16 Rocklin students earn journalism awards

The year 2010 marked the greatest number of awards for Rocklin High students on the yearbook and newspaper staffs. Recently, 16 Rocklin High students were recognized for excellence in the Journalism Education Association of Northern California state contest. In column writing, seniors Justin Brooks and Paige Chandler were awarded Honorable Mentions. A 2009 alumni, Ashley Sorci, received an Honorable Mention in review writing. Representing the yearbook staff, Rocklin High earned three first-place awards. Graduate from the class of 2009, Chelsea Landa's photo ranked first in the sport's photography category and junior Kara Stone's photo ranked first in the feature category. Juniors Jessica Cole's and Sydney Ware's sports spread that featured team-building interactions placed first, too. Rocklin High Yearbook was also represented in the People Spread and Specialty Spread, works of Samantha Lawrence and Samantha Witter, both of which placed second overall. Honorable mentions were given to seven yearbook staffers including junior Brenna O'Neill, 2009 alumni Amanda Kettenhofen (Student Life), senior Kayla Phillips and junior Elise Valentini (Student Life), Jenna Merserau and Amanda Kettenhofen (Organizations), and junior Safa Casim (infographics). National Scholastic Press Association admitted 16 newspaper and yearbook students to the NSPA Journalism Honor Roll. Requirements included at least two years as a staff member and a GPA of 3.75 or higher each of the two years. Honor Roll students from yearbook include Coverage Assistant Editor Juliet Bennett, Coverage Co-editor Safa Casim, Photo Editor Jessey Clarke, staff member Jessica Cole, Index and Seniors Editor Kathryn Dyas, Design Editor in training Nicole Hutak, Senior Ads Editor Ashley Linnane, Clubs Co-editor Brenna O'Neill, Design Editor Kayla Phillips, Clubs Co-editor Elise Valentini, staffer Sydney Ware, and Sports Editor Kayla Zellars. Newspaper students who qualified for Honor Roll include assistant Sports Editor Amanda Calzada, Blog Editor Victoria Clark, and Web Co-editor Karin Oxenham. Rocklin High's journalism advisor is Casey Nichols. ~ Staff report