2024 Achievement Award Winners Celebrated

GSPA honored several Achievement Award winners during the Spring Awards ceremony March 25, 2024.

The Start-up Award recognizes a first-year publication or program that has demonstrated significant quality. This year’s award recognizes two newly-added publications at Marietta High School: The Pitchfork’s news website and Persephone literary magazine. 

Nearly a decade ago, The Pitchfork attempted an online presence but the website stopped being used and maintained. This year, after two years of planning and development, The Pitchfork staff brought back a more modern and adaptable news source for Marietta High School, MHSPitchfork.com.

“The dream for the future of the website is to expand content and opportunities for student journalists” Pitchfork staff wrote in their nomination materials. “We want MHSPitchfork.com to publish more timely and multimedia-driven stories alongside the print publication.”

The idea of a reimagined literary magazine came about in the new Journalism I class after it had been more than two decades without one at the school, according to staff. “Sydney (Martinez) spent the second half of her junior year leading a group of eight students to create a literary magazine from scratch, researching what was necessary for a creatively designed magazine,” staff noted. “This came with many obstacles, but the magazine was completed and received a superior evaluation (in GSPA’s 2023 contest).”

GSPA DIRECTOR STEPHANIE MORENO (LEFT) PRESENTS zaria byers OF marietta HIGH SCHOOL (RIGHT) WITH THE ENTERPRISING AWARD AT THE UGA GEORGIA CENTER ON MARCH 25 2024.

The Enterprising Award recognizes a student who achieves success in publishing significant, quality journalistic work outside of school in local, regional or national outlets. This year’s winner is Zaria Byers of Marietta High School.

Byers is the print editor-in-chief for The Pitchfork newspaper. Her nominator wrote, “Zaria continues to improve herself, the staff, and the program. While excelling in school-run journalism, she goes beyond to extend her journalism journey.”

In addition to work at her school paper, Zaria has interned with the Marietta Daily Journal, assisting with assignments and photography. She also joined VOX Teen Communications where she completed a fellowship and now serves as a member of their segment, “VOX Investigates,” which explores investigative journalism.

Her nominator wrote: “Through her passion for journalism, Zaria specifically wants to give voice to others. This is exemplified in a quote of hers that was published in an Education for Atlanta article about the ‘whitewashing of Black history.’”

Byers said in the article, “As a Black student journalist, I have a dedication to amplifying stories that would be otherwise unheard. Through my work, I want to bring attention to ever-present issues in this ever-changing world.”

Adviser of the Year recognizes a journalism adviser who goes beyond the “call of duty” in supporting his or her staff. This year’s winner is Andrea Lyons, adviser of The Pitchfork and Persephone at Marietta High School. Read more about Lyons here.