Maine South High School’s award-winning, student-run newspaper, Southwords, has won multiple awards this year from numerous school press associations around the country. In the fall, the Kettle Moraine Press Association (KEMPA) awarded Southwords the honor rating of “All-KEMPA” for its 2025 KEMPA Critique entry. This is the highest honor rating given to newspapers that are submitted for critique.
“The editors and adviser have set very high standards for the staff,” noted one of the judges from KEMPA. “The results show that this is a quality publication the school community can be proud of.”
Southwords also earned national recognition from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) at their annual convention in New York in late March. Southwords was awarded a Silver Crown award in a nationwide head-to-head competition, the highest recognition given by the CSPA to student print media. Graduates Thomas Hurley (‘25) and Caitlin Vengazo (‘25) earned second place in the Gold Circle awards for informational graphics and alternative story form.
In April, Southwords editors attended the Northern Illinois School Press Association (NISPA) conference at College of DuPage, where they spent the day learning from experts in the field of journalism and earned numerous awards for their exceptional work this year. Based on this year’s critique, Southwords earned a Gold Certificate, which indicates they scored at the highest level, according to the NISPA scholastic journalism rubric.
The following students won nine awards in the individual contests at NISPA:
Blue Ribbon Award for Excellence in Journalism (highest distinction)
Southwords Editorial Board, Editorial Writing
Emma Brown (11th grade) and Emma Militaru, Profile Writing
Bart Dabkowski (11th grade), Feature Writing
Isabella Fayhee (10th grade), Review Writing
Lucia Fuentes (12th grade), News Writing
Hannah Henningsen (10th grade), Photography
Honorable Mention Award for Excellence in Journalism
James Biagi (11th grade) and Katie Johnston (12th grade), Sports Feature Writing
Niko Calderón (11th grade), Opinion Writing
Sonia Loizos (10th grade), Editorial Cartooning
From another national press association, in its most recent newspaper critique, the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) awarded Southwords its highest honor rating, the prestigious All-American Award. This is only the sixth time in school history that Southwords has earned this rating and it is the first time the publication earned marks of distinction in all five of the judged components: coverage, content, text, visuals, and overall presentation. The judges noted that Southwords‘ coverage is incredible and the stories are clear and well-researched with great interviewing and reporting.
At the Journalism Education Association (JEA)/NSPA National High School Media Convention in the fall, graduate Anna Papanastassiou (‘25) earned fourth place in the nation in cartooning.
Additionally, the following Southwords students were named recipients of the Leadership Award in Student Journalism from the NSPA:
Audrey Becker (12th grade)
James Biagi (11th grade)
Joseph Calderón (11th grade)
Lola Cosma (11th grade)
Olivia Crawford (11th grade)
Bart Dabkowski (11th grade)
Sarah Frantz (12th grade)
Samuel Higgins (12th grade)
Sydney Hollingsworth (12th grade)
Katie Johnston (12th grade)
Emery Yates (12th grade)
Ivana Zezelj (10th grade)
“The magnitude of these awards is a testament to the young journalists who are committed to informing and building our community,” shares Maine South English Teacher and Southwords Adviser Alexander Stathakis. “It is gratifying to see their efforts recognized both regionally and nationally.”