Melissa Liu of Northview High School is the 2022 Georgia Champion Journalist of the year.

UPDATE: On April 9, Melissa Liu was named one of four runners-up in the Journalism Education Association’s national Journalist of the Year contest. She won a $1,000 scholarship. Congratulations to Melissa!

ORIGINAL: Melissa Liu, co-editor-in-chief for The Messenger newspaper at Northview High School in Johns Creek, Georgia, has been named the 2022 Georgia Champion Journalist of the Year by the Georgia Scholastic Press Association and the Journalism Education Association. The award recognizes the top high school senior journalist in the state.

Audrey Enghauser, editor-in-chief for Clarke Central High School’s ODYSSEY Media Group, 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.

Melissa Liu assists a fellow member of The Messenger with graphic design.

A contest judge praised Liu for her well-roundedness. “In fact, it was near impossible for me to find many holes in your overall body of work,” the judge noted.

Her adviser, Meredith Evans, wrote in a recommendation letter that Liu “has a strong dedication to not only our publication, but to journalism as a whole. As we live in a time where information is highly accessible, I have found that Melissa has a curiosity that never seems to be satiated. She is consistent in her search for new information to bring back to our staff to help us grow our staff and our readers, enhancing her free spirit abilities as a future journalist.”

Liu joined The Messenger her freshmen year. “Four years of journalism has helped me grow, not only by engaging with other journalists, but also by giving me the opportunity to meet people of a diverse backgrounds and interests,” she stated in her personal essay. “From my conversations with families struggling financially due to COVID-19, to conversations with low-income students for ‘The Cost of College,’ interviewing has equipped me with the perspectives needed to support a strong, well-informed community.

“Over time, my decision to join The Messenger on a whim has blossomed into a passion for in-depth reporting, whether I’m writing about the impact of changes in grading policy or environmental activism,” she continued. “I have grown to love journalism and appreciate the powerful role it plays in progress.”

Liu 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 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.

In addition to the senior-level Georgia Champion Journalist of the Year contest, GSPA honors the top high school junior journalist in the state. Melanie Frick, web editor for Cedar Shoals High School’s BluePrints, was selected as the Georgia Junior Champion Journalist winner. Kaija Gilbertson Hall, co-editor-in-chief for iliad literary magazine , was the runner-up. There were eleven entries in the junior division.

All winners will be recognized during the GSPA Spring Awards and Workshop on Monday, April 11, at the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education in Athens.