In a display of resounding journalistic skill, IUSD schools and students once again dominated the Orange County Journalism Education Association (OCJEA) competition, held at Northwood High School. Students won in several categories and qualified for the State Competition in March.
About the Competition
IUSD schools competed in the highly competitive South division of the annual competition, which was split into North and South divisions. With students from four schools participating, IUSD showcased exceptional journalistic talent, with numerous students qualifying for the state write-off competition scheduled for March 14.
The OCJEA competition pushes students to demonstrate their skills in high-pressure, real-world journalistic scenarios. Students underwent rigorous competitive exercises and simulations, including:
- Attending a mock press conference and producing a news story within one hour
- Crafting complete newspaper spreads in just two hours
- Drafting critical reviews of performances immediately after viewing them
IUSD Demonstrates Journalist Excellence
At the competition, Portola High School led the pack with a total of 17 awards. Irvine High School and Northwood High School followed closely, securing 15 awards each. Woodbridge High School was a top scorer, taking home 12 awards. The IUSD awardees include:
Congratulations to all the students for their exceptional achievements at the OCJEA Journalism Competition!
Print Edition of Best in Show
- 1st – Woodbridge High School
Best Podcast
- 1st – Northwood High School
Best News Website
- 1st – Northwood High School
Yearbook Sweepstakes
- 1st – Portola High School
Newspaper Sweepstakes
- 1st – Portola High School
- 2nd – Irvine High School
- 3rd – Woodbridge High School
- 4th – Northwood High School
News
- 1st – Nora Alijazar (Portola)
- 2nd – Rabani Chadha (Woodbridge)
- 3rd – Stephanie Hwang (Portola)
- 4th – Jay Bae (Northwood)
- 5th – Lian Le (Northwood)
- 7th – Mina Cook (Irvine)
- 9th – Anaisha Bajpai (Irvine)
- 10th – Sai Adusumilli (Woodbridge)
Yearbook Feature Copy
- 1st – Sophia Trinh (Portola)
- 3rd – Mehana Wuppalapati (Portola)
Yearbook Sports Copy
- 1st – Sahasra Gujjula (Portola)
- 3rd – Zi Ning (Neo) Tian (Portola)
Yearbook Sports Design
- 1st – Connor Hsiao (Portola)
- 3rd – Samin Azad (Portola)
Newspaper Layout / Design
- 2nd – Alli Xiaoyan Wang (Northwood)
Magazine Cover Design
- 4th – Sara Qazi (Woodbridge)
Newspaper Photo
- 3rd – Ashlyn Do (Woodbridge)
- 5th – Lelani Nguyen (Irvine)
- 6th – Sisi Liu (Northwood)
Critical Review
- 1st – Delara Mirdamadi (Woodbridge)
- 2nd – Riya Chandan (Portola)
- 4th – Madison Lam (Irvine)
- 5th – Aanya Saravanan (Irvine)
Editorial
- 1st – Siri Kolanupaka (Portola)
- 2nd – Guilana Levy (Woodbridge)
- 5th – Ian Shin (Irvine)
- 8th – Jiwoo Park (Northwood)
- 9th – Cara Lee (Irvine)
- 10th – Hunter Duong (Woodbridge)
Editorial Cartoon
- 2nd – Hyunjoong Lee (Northwood)
- 5th – Kayla Fu (Northwood)
- 9th – Katelyn Wong (Portola)
Yearbook Photo
- 2nd – Zhiming Chen (Northwood)
- 3rd – Kiti Nalasalu (Portola)
- 4th – Amy Yang (Northwood)
- 8th – Lochlann Hong (Portola)
Sports
- 1st – Clara Bazzani (Irvine)
- 2nd – Brandon Kim (Irvine)
- 4th – Courtney Le (Northwood)
- 5th – Jabez Lee (Portola)
- 6th – Surina Patel (Woodbridge)
- 8th – Lily Tsai (Woodbridge)
- 9th – Zoë Yan (Northwood)
Feature
- 1st – Alice Ahn (Portola)
- 2nd – Kayla Hsu (Woodbridge)
- 3rd – Ashley Liau (Irvine)
- 4th – Emily Zhao (Irvine)
- 6th – Noor Andary (Woodbridge)
- 7th – Kelly Yeh (Portola)
- 8th – Anna Cao (Northwood)
- 10th – Annie Xiao (Portola)
Novice News – Honorable Mention
- 1st – Nadine Gasmi (Irvine)
- 2nd – Alvin Chung (Northwood)
- 3rd – Elijah Yu (Irvine)
- 4th – Emma Chen (Portola)
Novice News – Excellent
- 1st – Jiwoo Chung (Northwood)
- 3rd – Abbie Kim (Northwood)
- 4th – Jeri Zhou (Northwood)
- 5th – Sharanya Rao (Irvine)
- 7th – Bella Jeo (Irvine)
- 8th – Sophie Kato (Irvine)
Novice News – Superior
1st – Shreya Shah (Irvine)
- 3rd – Lucia Gorokhovsky (Northwood)