Lindale ISD Superintendent Stan Surratt with Lindale High School journalism sponsor, Neda Morrow and the winners of the 2023 All-State Journalism Staff (in no particular order): Andrea Hernandez, Paula Arantes, Sydney Hines, Jaida Jones, Julia Montgomery and 2023 graduate Christian Wynne.

Several East Texas students qualified for the 2023 All-State Journalism staff, including students from Lindale and Whitehouse high schools.

To qualify for the All-State staff, students must have earned 50 points by participating in UIL (University Interscholastic League) invitational contests, UIL district, regional and state contests, as well as ILPC (Interscholastic League Press Conference) and similar journalism contests.

“Being named to the All-State Staff is an incredible achievement for any journalism student,” said UIL State Journalism Director Alyssa Boehringer. “Given the size of the state of Texas and the competition among the programs in Texas, this achievement is something special.”

Receiving the award from Lindale High School were juniors Andrea Hernandez, Paula Arantes and Sydney Hines, as well as seniors Jaida Jones and Julia Montgomery and 2023 graduate Christian Wynne.

“Being a part of the All-State Journalism team feels so rewarding,” Jones said. “Being able to use my skill to compete and win is one of the highlights of my year.”

Arieanna Clark and Lily Driggers were the named winners from Whitehouse High School.

“I am a blessed and spoiled UIL coach and publications advisor having these two ladies on the team and publications staff,” said UIL Coordinator and journalism coach Paige Dyer. “Arieanna and Lily are hard workers and always strive to produce the best work; the articles they write for competition always embrace the true story being told. Their work on the yearbook and newspaper is always competition worthy. They are leaders in their craft and ensure others on the publications staffs are writing to their fullest potential.”

The UIL sponsors five journalism contests — news writing, feature writing, editorial writing, headline writing and copy editing. Students compete at the district level, and then the top three places advance to regionals. From regionals, the top three places advance to state competition.

“Competing in UIL can be fun and stressful,” Arantes said. “However, having a group of people you can rely on makes competitions so much easier.”

Driggs, a Whitehouse senior, said being on the UIL Journalism Staff, as well as the editor of the school yearbook and newspaper, takes a lot of her focus.

“But is worth the reward no matter what accolades are earned,” she said. “It is nice and an honor to be recognized by the state for the work that I enjoy doing. I’m looking forward to seeing what my senior year entails regarding UIL academics and publications.”

“(Lindale and Whitehouse) are two powerhouse journalism programs so I am not surprised at all they had students on the list,” Boehringer said.

According to the UIL website, the overview of the journalism contest includes:

Editorial writing to teach students to read critically, to digest and prioritize information quickly and to write clearly, accurately and succinctly. Emphasis is placed on mechanical and stylistic precision, news judgment, and the ability to think deeply, to compare and contrast and to argue or defend a point of view persuasively;

Feature writing to teach students to read critically, to digest and prioritize information quickly, and to write clearly, accurately and succinctly. Emphasis is placed on the same writing skills as other UIL Journalism Contests, as well as the ability to write descriptively;

News writing to teach students to read critically, to digest and prioritize information quickly and to write clearly, accurately and succinctly. Emphasis is placed on mechanical and stylistic precision, lead writing, use of direct and indirect quotes and news judgment;

Headline writing to teach students to read critically, to digest and prioritize information quickly and to write clearly, accurately and succinctly. Emphasis is placed on the ability to discern key facts and to write with flair and style in order to tell and sell a story; and

Copy editing to teach students the vital skills of proofreading and editing to create accurate, clear and succinct writing. Emphasis is placed on the ability to find and correct grammatical, spelling, punctuation, AP style and factual errors.

“I am so proud of all the work this team has done,” said Neda Morrow, journalism sponsor for Lindale High School. “They were up against really tough competition all year, and they kept working hard and doing their best. They really improved over the course of the year, and they definitely deserve recognition for all they put into the program and for earning so many medals at the meets they attended.”

According to a press release from Lindale ISD, students work all year to prepare for UIL with after school practices and by writing sample papers and revising them. They also give up Saturdays to attend practice meets and invitationals around the state.

The team will begin new practice sessions for the upcoming season in September and will start the first round of invitationals in November.

Students from other East Texas schools named on the list include: Brownsboro High School, Martin’s Mill ISD, Sabine High School, Union Grove High School and White Oak High School.

Madeline Terry, Mackenzi Cox and Gracey Tucker, of Brownsboro High School; Ruthie Mein, Isabella Sanderson, Makayla McLemore, and Reese Hataway of Martin’s Mill ISD; Hailey Aguilar, Shawn Allen, Haylee Applewhite, Issac Cole, Korben Colquitt, JR Jackson, and Hailey Leon, of Sabine High School; CreeAnn Bozarth, Emma Holder, Sydney Pritchett, Jamie Russell, Daytona Vaughn and Faith Woodall of Union Grove High School; and Alli Sims, Chloe Bates, Collin Wheat, Keller Lott, Kate Dusek, Kynlee Bright, and Trinity Noll of White Oak High School.