After 13 days of writing, photography, broadcasting and social media, 24 talented journalists completed the 66th-annual CSPA Journalism Workshop on the campus of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.
The program ended July 21 with a graduation ceremony that included CSPA instructors and counselors, Cal Poly staff and, most importantly, our new graduates and their family members.
Graduates completed an intense workshop that focused on the fundamentals of journalism but also went into areas such as podcasting and Twitter. CSPA students completed 35 assignments and they produced a four-page newspaper and their own news broadcast.
Hala Ozgur of Irvine High received the Ralph and Millie Alexander Award, given to a student who displayed all-around excellence at the workshop, both in and out of the classroom.
Valentina Martinez of Flintridge Prep High received the Stan Kelton Award, given to a student who best embodied the spirit of the workshop.
A third, and newly created, award, in honor of longtime CSPA instructor and board member Gil Chesterton, was given to Sophie Haber of Harvard-Westlake High, in recognition of her dedication to excellence in student journalism, including publications.
Alex Wong of Los Altos High finished with the most points in all workshop assignments. Hala Ozgur finished second, followed by Rachel Carlson (Marlborough High), Sophie Haber, Tori Fong (Aragon High) and Abbey Zhu (Newark Academy).
The CSPA wishes all of its new graduates well, and hopes for their continued success in journalism. The last three winners of the JEA High School Journalist of the Year award are CSPA graduates: Julia Poe (2015), Kellen Browning (2016) and Meghan Bobrowsky (2017). Browning and Bobrowsky worked as counselors at this year’s workshop.
Dates and tuition for the 2018 CSPA Workshop are expected to be announced in October.
CSPA Summer Journalism Workshop 
You must be logged in to post a comment.