Earlier this month, senior Lauren Stepp was elated to hear she has been named the N.C. High School Journalist of the Year. Four years ago, at the beginning of her position on the Wingspan staff, she said she never would have expected such commendation for her work.

“I was very excited,” Stepp said. “It’s an outstanding recognition. I had worked two whole months, every single day, on my portfolio so being rewarded with that title and the scholarship made it all worth it.”
West’s journalism teacher, Brenda Gorsuch, has advised Stepp for the past four years as a student on the Wingspan newspaper staff.  This is the second year in a row a West student won the title.

“I’m always pleased when West High journalists receive recognition because it’s not only recognition for them, but it’s also recognition for our program,” Gorsuch said. “The cool thing about the NC. High School Journalist of the Year is that the judges recognize that an individual student could not do accomplish anything without the support of a staff. That’s what I think is really cool. Our staff is generating that kind of quality and our leaders are able to be among the very best in our state.”

Completing the required portfolio can be tough. A student applying for the title must submit 10 pages of application materials and 40 pages of work samples.  Not only does the applicant need to have a great approach for taking on a challenge like this in journalism class, but also in life. Gorsuch said she has watched Stepp grow in this way.
“From the very beginning, Lauren was interested in learning everything she could learn to be the best on the staff and be the best in the state,” Gorsuch said.  “Lauren was an excellent writer as a freshman, but her writing has matured. She was more of a creative writer as a freshman, so Lauren had to take her ability to put words on paper and learn how to mold them into the journalistic style. She’s done that very well.”

Stepp attended journalism workshops during her time on the staff, including the Southern Interscholastic Press Association convention at the University of South Carolina and the N.C. Scholastic Media Association summer institute. Last summer, she attended the Al Neuharth Free Spirit Journalism Conference in Washington, D.C. There Stepp was able to work with professional journalists.

Conventions weren’t enough for Stepp, though. She wanted to pursue gaining writing skills and set herself up for a challenge. So in addition to writing for the Wingspan and WingspanOnline.net, she worked as a stringer for a local weekly newspaper, The Lightning. With this position, Stepp was required to work on stricter, shorter deadlines. She also worked on The Rush staff on a convention to Chapel Hill. With the help of nine other journalism students, she had to produce an eight-page newspaper in 48 hours. Coming back to the Wingspan, Stepp brought some new ideas with her. After intense research, working on prototypes with the other editors-in-chief, the Wingspan was transformed into a news magazine.

“I definitely believe you should try to put your all into one thing, something that you actually enjoy,” Stepp said. “I wasn’t planning to build up all these accolades, but because I was passionate, I did.”

By Katie Farina