Those who follow any of the academic accomplishments at EHS in the 2016-17 year are aware of the accolades the students have collected.

The Econ Challenge team scored as one of the top ten teams in the state; two students attended the Illinois State Science Expo; Mrs. Thrun’s journalism team won their first championship at the State IHSA journalism competition, tying for first place with Naperville Central.

With two second place winners (senior Emma Lipe in copy-editing and senior Jane Thompson in newspaper design) and four other students earning higher than sixth place, the EHS journalism program proved their prowess in a competition against 77 other teams.

The journalists (eight seniors and three sophomores) competed in categories ranging from writing briefs about mock press conferences to designing newspapers using professional software to sketching cartoons to voice an opinion. Students showcased their skills in every area of journalism.

“I learned that journalism is much more diverse with the people involved (in the competition),” senior broadcasting competitor Kerrington Holland said.

Holland’s experience at the competition revealed more than just the diversity of journalism; she realized the importance of journalism in schools.

“Without journalism in our school, we would be kind of lost and blind,” she said. “Most of the kids in our school wouldn’t have any idea what was going on.”

The seniors who were part of the championship team plan to use the skills they learned from journalism for the rest of their lives.

“I think it’s important to be news literate, especially with all the events happening around the globe,” senior and first year journalism student Jamie Skigen said. “(Journalism) gives you an outlet to express your feelings as well as read others’ (opinions).”

And the skill sets Skigen gained as a journalist resonate with those outlined by the American Press Association.

“News is that part of communication that keeps us informed of the changing events, issues, and characters in the world outside. Though it may be interesting or even entertaining, the foremost value of news is as a utility to empower the informed,” APA’s Committee of Concerned Journalists’ training director Walter Dean said.

“The purpose of journalism is thus to provide citizens with the information they need to make the best possible decisions about their lives, their communities, their societies, and their governments.”