Local Wins National Journalism Award

Karla Estrada, a junior at Duncanville High School, captured the first-ever Award of Excellence for having the best overall entry in the National Federation of Press Women’s 2014 High School Communications Contest.

Her feature photo entry, “High Hats deal with tragedy through tribute dance,” was deemed the top entry among 20 first-place winning entries nationwide. The photograph, which captures an emotional moment during a tribute to a student whose life was taken in a domestic violence shooting, was published in the school newspaper, “Panther Prints.”

“It’s tough to capture honest, raw emotion AND compose a good story-telling frame at pre-planned events-yet this photographer succeeded admirably on both counts. Well done!” the judge wrote.

Karla was presented the Award of Excellence on Sept. 6 at the NFPW conference in Greenville, S.C. The award comes with a $500 check for the winner’s school communications department and a framed and inscribed First Amendment-themed poster to hang at the school, plus a smaller version for the winner.

Karla received first-place awards both for the feature photo and a sports photo titled, “Atkins takes falling foul.” Besides certificates, she received a total of $200 in prize money.

Overall, 92 students from 15 states won national awards for 86 entries Students initially compete at the state level, and first-place winners then advance to the national competition. This year’s state contests drew 1,653 entries. Of these, 188 entries competed at the national level. Seventeen professional communicators or journalism educators from nine states judged the national contest.

The contest, endorsed by the National Association of Secondary School Principals, is the only nationwide competition of its kind. The contest offers 20 categories, including news, feature and column writing; photography; videos; and graphic design.