IHSA State Journalism Finals

Congratulations to three of Galena High School’s Journalism students who attended the state finals this year! Kennedy Trautsch ‘23, Jenna Smith ‘23, and Sam Eaton ‘23 were recognized for their outstanding journalism skills and were selected to represent GHS at the state finals in Bloomington Normal on Friday, April 21. Trautsch’s editorial piece caught the attention of the judges and earned her third place in the Editorial Writing event. She took advantage of her resources and created a well-spoken opinion piece on her topic.

“Going to the state finals was a really unique and fun experience,” said Trautsch. “I’m proud of myself for how much I’ve improved since I started participating in journalism.” Smith, a returning state finalist, competed in two events and was victorious in both. In Review Writing, she placed 5th and in Headline Writing, she took 2nd place. Review Writing and Headline Writing are both difficult events and are very valuable skills in the journalism industry. “Jenna has always been a hard worker and shown incredible journalism skills,” said Mrs. Bookless. “She has truly deserved these awards and I hope she continues to use her talent for journalism in the future.”

Finally, Eaton, who was also a returning state qualifier, created an informative and engaging piece for the Sports Writing event. He was prompted to write about the sport of Lacrosse, which he had no prior knowledge about, but he put lots of time and effort into learning as much as possible about the sport in order to produce a great piece of writing. While he did not place in the top six competitors at the state level, he still performed very well and showed exceptional journalism skills. “It was really exciting to have another opportunity to compete at the state level,” said Eaton.

The three students were awarded with membership in the Galena High School Chapter of the Quill and Scroll International Honor Society for High School Journalists. Smith and Eaton were both previously awarded membership for their journalism achievements at the state level in previous years, and Trautsch is a new member this year. Congratulations to the three competitors on making it to state level competition.