Molly Harwell, editor-in-chief for ODYSSEY newsmagazine at Clarke Central High School in Athens, Georgia, has been named the 2024 Georgia Champion Journalist of the Year. The award recognizes the top high school senior journalist in the state.

Harwell will receive a plaque and a $1,000 monetary award, supported by the Carolyn McKenzie and Don E. Carter Chair for Excellence in Journalism at the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. She also advances to represent the state in the Journalism Education Association’s National Journalist of the Year Competition.

Wesley Harrison, digital editor-in-chief for The Pitchfork and an executive producer for the Blue Devil News at Marietta High School, is the runner-up in the competition. Harrison is a current GSPA Ambassador.

The winners were selected from a highly competitive group of twelve senior candidates, each with portfolios filled with academic achievements and journalism accolades.

In addition to the senior-level Georgia Champion Journalist of the Year contest, GSPA honors the top high school junior journalist in the state. Wyatt Meyer, lead copy editor for Clarke Central High School’s ODYSSEY Media Group, was selected as the Georgia Junior Champion Journalist winner. Meyer is a current GSPA Ambassador. Sierra Pape, news managing editor for The Southerner at Midtown High School, is the runner-up. There were nine entries in the junior division.

All winners will be recognized during the GSPA Spring Awards and Workshop on March 25 at the University of Georgia’s Center for Continuing Education in Athens. Read the full story here.