May 25, 2012 – Cassa Niedringhaus, editor of the Rocky Mountain Highlighter, Rocky Mountain HS, was chosen as the CHSPA Dorothy Greer Scholarship winner for 2012. This award is also known as the Colorado Journalist of the Year.
Cassa was chosen from an outstanding field of 12 nominees, from 12 schools. The judges were impressed with the depth and breadth of her portfolio, which included not only writing, photography and design for her newspaper, but also some broadcast reporting for the school district. Cassa also was in the top ten of her graduating class of 492, which demonstrated her ability to balance her many activities with her academic work.
She was an Al Neuharth Scholar last summer, spending nearly two weeks in Washington, D.C., meeting newsmakers and honing her reporting skills. She has won several awards in the Best of Colorado competition over the past two years.
Cassa’s adviser is Stephen Wahlfeldt, and she is the seventh Rocky Mountain HS graduate to be named a Greer winner. Cassa will receive a $1,000 college scholarship (she will be attending the University of Missouri in the fall).
Runner-up
Macy Morgan, co-editor of the Eagle Eye newsmagazine at Mountain Visa HS, was named runner-up in the Greer
competition. She is also a top student, ranking 13th in her class of 443. Her adviser is Mark Newton, MJE.
Macy won the first-ever Constitution Day essay contest last September, along with several individual honors in Best of Colorado competition. She is one of the pioneers in the state in convergence journalism, contributing to both the printed publication and the website. Her design work and her leadership on her staff stood out to the judges.
She will receive a $1,000 college scholarship ($500 is she goes out of state).
Eric Benson winner
Nicole Sherrill, sports editor of the Windsor Chronicle, Windsor HS, is our Benson Scholarship winner. This $600 award, funded by the Benson family, will help Nikki as she begins college this fall at Hastings College in Nebraska.
Nikki’s work as a sports reporter made her a standout candidate, and her writing for the local professional press demonstrated her versatility and professionalism. Her adviser is Jill Jones.
For current juniors: mark Feb. 15, 201,3 on your calendar as the postmark deadline for your own portfolio of work.
