Students from two local high schools typed up prize-winning achievements in front of fellow Nebraska journalists this fall.
Southeast and Southwest students displayed their writing, photography, layout design and social media skills at the 2026 Nebraska High School Press Association (NHSPA) Fall Convention. Staff members of The Clarion newspaper at Southeast and The Talon yearbook at Southwest earned Cornhusker Awards for their journalism work during the 2025-26 school year. The Cornhusker Award is the top honor that Nebraska high school newspaper, yearbook, broadcast and digital media newsrooms can earn each year.
The Talon staff members captured the program’s tenth straight Cornhusker Award. Southwest senior Lauryn said she and other yearbook students were elated when their school’s name was called.
“I felt a lot of pride and just this overwhelming feeling of joy that our work had paid off and that it was something that people found enjoyable to look at and read,” Lauryn said.
Southwest journalism teacher Delani Young said the yearbook team relied on work ethic and cooperation to rise to the occasion. Many Silver Hawks entered the year with no previous journalism experience, but they handled the learning curve with a positive mindset. Their solution-centered ideas led to many smiles at the state convention.
“I don’t know if the students fully understood what the award meant when it was first announced, so when we got together after the opening session and I was explaining the significance of the award they received, they got really excited,” Young said. “It was a huge honor, and they felt so proud of their work last year.”
The Clarion co-editors Myla and Lily said they were thrilled to join other Knights on stage during the recognition ceremony. The group earned Southeast’s third consecutive Cornhusker Award and fourth in the past five years.
“I know that The Clarion is composed of so many dedicated members, and it’s truly so satisfying and exciting to be recognized,” Lily said. “Within the past few years, we have really tried to elevate our photography and design skills, and we have worked towards significantly minimizing errors within our publications. So, receiving an award such as the Cornhusker illustrates that our papers are becoming increasingly more sophisticated, and so is our staff.”
“Over the past few years I’ve been on staff, our team has grown their talent exponentially,” Myla said. “We have received a Cornhusker many years in a row, and yet we keep working harder and harder to improve our paper bit by bit. My fellow staff members have gone way out of their comfort zones and even put in time outside of class just to produce high-level work, so it is amazing to know their work led to an award.”
Southeast journalism teacher Brianne Clark said it was a proud day for the program.
“Most of our staffers on The Clarion are returning, veteran journalists who have put years of hard work into this publication, so seeing them earn Nebraska’s highest award felt like the ultimate payoff,” Clark said. “Because so much of our leadership team is made up of seniors this year, watching them get the statewide recognition they’ve earned over their high school careers was a really special moment.”
The good feelings for Southeast continued after the awards ceremony. Myla and Lily shared leadership tips for navigating newsroom culture and print cycles, and Baran, Lydia and Lida taught fellow journalists how to build custom publication style guides. Sophia, Kristina and Mina led a presentation about broadcast fundamentals and audience engagement.
Lydia said the group enjoyed discussing grammar, punctuation and capitalization rules. Southeast recently created its own stylebook to ensure everyone would follow the same journalistic guidelines.
“I love copy editing, so it was exciting for me to be able to present to fellow journalists about something I am passionate about,” Lydia said. “I’m so happy that I got the chance to work with Baran and Lida. They are both so talented, and they had so many good ideas for our presentation.”
The trio also asked the audience to copy edit a story, which generated many positive responses.
“I think this activity got students interested in copy editing and AP (Associated Press) style,” Lida said. “It was a hands-on way to show the importance of consistency in a publication.”
Sophia and Kristina felt Southeast’s short-form video storytelling presentation also went well.
“We have been exploring using social media to share LSE’s stories, and so far, it has been successful,” Sophia said. “So, being able to teach fellow high school journalists something we know could potentially improve their publications as well was an extremely rewarding experience.”
“I think the thing I enjoyed the most about presenting with Mina and Sophia was that I got to collaborate not only with other people, but people who are my friends,” Kristina said. “We have all been a part of the newspaper for a while and connected through that. It was very fun to work inside and outside of class with them and just be able to share the whole experience with each other.”
Clark said it was fulfilling to see the Knights publish difference-making lessons for everyone at the conference.
“They worked hard to transform their initial ideas into polished, engaging workshops that offered real advice to student journalists from across the state,” Clark said. “Watching these students lead with confidence and share their expertise with peers was such an awesome thing to witness!”
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