Disha Kumar is the 2023 Georgia Champion journalist of the year. (submitted photo)

Disha Kumar, co-editor-in-chief for The Messenger newsmagazine at Northview High School in Johns Creek, Georgia, has been named the 2023 Georgia Champion Journalist of the Year by the Georgia Scholastic Press Association. The award recognizes the top high school senior journalist in the state.

Melanie Frick, co-editor-in-chief for Cedar Shoals High School’s BluePrints Magazine, was the runner-up in the competition.

The winners were selected from a highly competitive group of ten senior candidates, each with portfolios filled with academic achievements and journalism accolades. Portfolios were scored in the following categories: Reporting and Writing; Editing, Leadership and Team Building; Web and Social Media; Design; Broadcast Journalism; Photojournalism; Law, Ethics and News Literacy; Marketing and Audience Engagement; and Commitment to Diversity.

A contest judge commended Kumar’s “compelling personal narrative and writing samples as well as a very organized portfolio” and also noted her “dedication to reporting social justice issues, even when awkward and difficult, did not go unnoticed.”

Her adviser, Meredith Evans, described Kumar’s “kind-heartedness and commitment to education” in a recommendation letter. “Disha consistently demonstrates this dedication to bettering herself by bettering those around her through encouraging her classmates. She also consistently seeks to improve her writing, editing, and leadership skills – even taking on additional work to make up for mid-year staffing changes,” Evans wrote. “Ultimately, she continues to lead classmates through instruction and by example, by sustaining a positive attitude, keeping a great sense of humor, and modelling scholastic resolve.”

In a personal narrative statement, Kumar described having a passion for social justice. “Whether through a graphic to report on Hinduphobic, anti-Indian rhetoric in my community or a piece on community mental health amid racial violence, I have recognized that it is our job as journalists to amplify the voices of those around us,” she wrote. “In college, I will continue to wield the power of the pen to report on my community and effect change.”

Disha kumar helps a fellow member of The Messenger newsmagazine. (submitted photo)

Kumar 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. Kumar is a current member of GSPA Student Ambassadors.

In addition to the senior-level Georgia Champion Journalist of the Year contest, GSPA honors the top high school junior journalist in the state. Maya Clement, print managing editor for Clarke Central High School’s ODYSSEY Media Group, was selected as the Georgia Junior Champion Journalist winner. Anna Shaikun, digital editor for Clarke Central’s ODYSSEY Media Group, was the runner-up. There were seven entries in the junior division.

All winners will be recognized during the GSPA Spring Awards and Workshop on Monday, March 27 at the University of Georgia’s Center for Continuing Education in Athens.