Editors Ray Dai, Katherine Fortna, Elizabeth Joy and co-adviser Lisa Reinhardt attended the conference and awards ceremony as guests of NYPA, where the paper received 11 awards. The association hosts high school and college award winners each year, based on points accumulated in various categories of judging. Awards are also presented to community publications throughout the state that are recognized for excellence. Ithaca College won the college best newspaper award.

Nine New York high schools received awards, but students from Fredonia and Dobbs Ferry were the only winners invited to attend, based on the judging scores.

“The various award-winning high school publications recognized for excellent work have been winners in the past. It is impressive that our students have received this state-wide recognition among the best, year after year,” co-adviser Dadie Sedota said.

Reinhardt expressed gratitude for the commitment of the press association that recognizes student work at the high school and college levels. “It is an amazing experience for students to participate in an event that focuses on the whole process of writing and publishing for an audience beyond the classroom,” she said.

Spectator staff include, from left, front row: Jackson Gollnitz, Ray Dai, Toby Lim, Elizabeth Joy and Amelia Way. Back row are Grant Abbey, Eva Williams, Katherine Fortna and Kadence Farrington.

In the Special Recognition category, senior Ray Dai received two awards, one for his coverage of Fredonia’s village water conflict and the other for coverage of the school budget. “Ray’s coverage was detailed and concise — shining a light on the environmental, political and sustainability implications of this matter,” according to the judge’s summary.

Also winning a Special Recognition award, Cassandra Cramer’s work on the school budget coverage was recognized as “written in a way that is easy to understand. That is no small feat when covering budgetary controversy.”

The editorial board also received Special Recognition and included: Dai, Joy, Fortna, Jackson Gollnitz, Nella Darrell-Sterbak, Cooper Stenger, Kaylen Rollins, Kadence Farrington, Juliana Snyder, Eva Williams, Bryleigh Wicks, Hazel Daly-Griffen, Landon Rukavina, Ella Horowitz, CeCe Tonelli. Elly Saunders and Sophia Pagan.

Dai also received a second place award for his column, with Katherin Fortna placing third in the column category. The summary complimented her use of descriptive language and emotional appeal. “The column about her father brought a tear to my eye. That is the kind of personal parental messaging dads need to read,” according to the judge’s summary.

In the Feature Photo category, Isaac Willliams placed first, also winning the top award in Sports Photography and a second place for Best Front Page. The winning photos were complimented for their impact and clear focus.

Also winning awards for their photos, Issiah Ruiz placed second for Feature Photo and Cooper Stenger placed third for his sports photography.

First place in the Graphic Illustration category, Leo Fote’s work was described: “This was such a tight competition, with amazing drawings from all the entries. It was a very difficult decision to pick just one. With that being said, this graphic was chosen, not only with how well it relates to the story but also how it provides an urgent feeling with the use of color, the manic strokes in the background and the large punctuation.”

Kira Deering placed third in the Graphic Illustration category for a pair of drawings showing student lack of sleep. The judge wrote that the drawings included “fantastic details” and “compliment the story very well.”

Elizabeth Joy summarized the student experience: “I had a really great time in Saratoga for the NYPA awards. The presenters at the conference showed their knowledge of journalism, and I learned a lot about the craft. The awards are valuable because it not only gives us motivation to create a great paper, but it also recognizes our hard work and dedication.”