The OHS Journalism program returned to Webster University on Monday, March 9 for the annual SSP (Sponsors of School Publications) Conference. Hundreds of students from the Greater St. Louis area attended the conference. Facing off against stiff competition, the OHS Broadcast and Yearbook programs both won overall “superior” ratings, while the Newspaper program won a rating of “excellent.”

Individually, the students also fared well.

Broadcast won a Best of Show rating for their sports story, awarded to the team of Kobe Allen (11), Kassidy Ham (11), and Jacob King (12).

“It’s great to be recognized for your hard work,” said King, who has won a Best of Show rating the past three years (the first year for a news story, the next for sports).

In addition, the Broadcast teams of Holley Dinkins (12), Jake Lipina (12), and Nick Van Winkle (12), as well as the team of Mikayla Deeken (12) and Mykenzee Munaco (11), went home with “excellent” ratings. Annika Bernstein (11), Jacque Dreppard (11), and Allison Frisella (11) won honorable mentions, as did Dinkins and Veronica Mohesky (10). Johanna Carrigan (11) and Shayne Wors (12) scored honorable mentions also, once again with the contribution of Dinkins.

The OHS newspaper staff also won a Best in Show award for an editorial cartoon by Cheyanne Bise (12) depicting a turkey on Black Friday. Bise also won, in collaboration with Megan Haisler (12), an honorable mention for their “Doubletruck Design”.

“I feel absolutely happy,” said Bise. “I was not expecting to win an award, especially on an image such as the Thanksgiving cartoon. I was happy by the way it turned out because I really thought there were people who were going to be better. In the end, I was really happy I was the one who won.”

More people who were recognized include newspaper staff members Hannah Hoffmeister (11) and Madie Behnen (12) for sports news, sports feature respectively; both earned “superior” awards. Devon Jost’s (11) sport feature story received an honorable mention. Prowl editor-in-chief Megan Haisler was the winner of a superior “Newsmagazine cover design” as well as the overall SSP “Senior Write-Off” contest.

The SSP conference convenes every year during Webster’s spring break, and OHS hopes to return next year and do just as well.