Libertyville High senior named top journalist
Libertyville High School senior Hannah Boufford has been named the 2016 Illinois Journalist of the Year by the Illinois Journalism Education Association, a branch of the national JEA.
Illinois State Director for JEA Brenda Field and East Region Director for JEA Stan Zoller visited LHS to surprise Boufford with this honor during her student newspaper class. Hannah's parents, Mark and Susan Boufford, Student Newspaper Advisor Michael Gluskin, classmates and LHS staff members were also on hand for the surprise presentation and celebration.
Hannah is the editor-in-chief of the LHS student newspaper, Drops of Ink.
"Hannah is extremely deserving of winning this award," Gluskin said. "She is an excellent leader for our staff and embodies the best qualities of a student journalist. Her commitment to her individual work and our publication as a whole helps her serve as a role model for her fellow staff members."
The Journalist of the Year contest is open to current high school seniors. Student entries are judged according to a standardized rubric after they digitally submit their application materials. Hannah's award-winning entry can be found at hannahboufford.weebly.com.
As the winner, Hannah will receive a $300 prize and will be the Illinois representative in JEA's national-level Journalist of the Year contest. She will be honored at the IJEA Banquet this spring in Springfield, as well as the national banquet in Los Angeles in April.
"This honor is just absolutely incredible, and I can't thank everyone enough," Boufford said. "Though it is a huge accomplishment for myself and stands for everything that I've worked on, and for this year, it's also a huge accomplishment for Drops of Ink.
"I've seen the entire publication improve so much this year - and I have grown as a journalist and leader as a result - so this honor really is a symbol for all of that."
Boufford plans to continue her journalism education after graduating from LHS this spring.
"Next year, I will either be attending Indiana University as an Ernie Pyle Scholar of Journalism or University of Missouri as a Walter Williams Scholar of Journalism, and I'm so excited to see what the future has in store."
She plans to be highly involved in either school's student media, and looks forward to learning even more about journalism and improving her skills in the coming year.