Victoria Ison, a senior from Bloomington High School North, received the national Student Journalist of the Year honor from the Journalism Education Association.
Last month the Indiana High School Press Association named Ison Indiana’s top student journalist. All state winners are considered nationally.
Ison also received a $1,500 HSPA Foundation scholarship to study journalism in college.
Foundation director Karen T. Braeckel served on the selection committee for the Indiana Student Journalist of the Year award.
“The first portfolio I read during the selection process was Victoria’s,” Braeckel said. “The rest of the committee started harassing me for taking so long because I couldn’t put it down.”
The first-place vote for Indiana Journalist of the Year was unanimous, she said.
“It’s no surprise she won the national award too,” Braeckel said. “We are thrilled to give financial support to such an outstanding student.”
Ison is a four-year veteran of Bloomington High School North’s newsmagazine, Fused.
The JEA award comes with a $5,000 scholarship. She received a $500 award from the Indiana High School Press Association.
In an essay for her portfolio, Ison wrote: “I do not know everything that journalism is or everything that I am. But I know that the two have always been intertwined. And I’ve figured out that if I want any peace in this life I’d better be a journalist.”
