Senior Stephi Smith, the Hawkeye’s executive editor, was named the Washington Journalism Education Association’s Journalist of the Year this afternoon in a surprise presentation in the Hawkeye news room.
The 2016 journalist of the year, Jacoy Willis from Inglemoor H.S.; the 2016 adviser of the year, Teresa Scribner from Cleveland H.S.; and WJEA Executive Director Kathy Schrier, surprised Smith with the presentation just after 2 p.m. Smith’s mother, Principal Greg Schwab, Assistant Principal Peter Schurke, Hawkeye adviser Vince DeMiero and members of the Hawkeye leadership staff were also in attendance for the announcement and presentation.
Along with the award, Smith received a $2,000 scholarship and becomes the official Washington state entry to the Journalism Education Association’s national student journalist of the year competition. That award will be presented next month at the JEA/NSPA national convention, which happens to be in Seattle this year.
A member of the Hawkeye staff all four years at Terrace, Smith has covered stories ranging from a murder-suicide to alumni features, has served as a staff photographer, copy editor and news editor. Additionally, Smith is a freelance writer for MLTNews.com.
Smith plans to continue her passion for journalism as an undergraduate at the University of Missouri – one of the nation’s top programs. This is the third time that a Hawkeye student has been named the WJEA journalist of the year – in 1999 Adam Jude became the first Terrace honoree and Nick Fiorillo was the recipient in 2015. Last year, Paxtyn Merten was named the WJEA Lu Flannery Outstanding Journalist recipient, which also includes a $2,000 scholarship.
