Dexter Journalism Students Win Awards at Summer MIPA Conference

Dexter High School journalism students Katie VonTom, Lauren DeHaan, Abby Mesaros, and Erin Lashbrook were recently honored by the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association (MIPA) for their contributions to The Squall student newspaper.

The students attended a week-long MIPA conference July 28 through Aug. 2 at Michigan State University along with schools across the state to learn how to design, edit, and publish a newspaper.

"The workshops were really informative," Lashbrook said.

Lashbrook, a senior at DHS, was recognized for her opinion columns, and will serve as the Squall's opinion/feature editor and business manager in the fall.

"I was really surprised to win an award," she said. "Our newspaper staff works hard to receive recognition for our work."

Fellow classmate Katie VonTom and received the Sparty Award (the highest MIPA award) for photography, and Lauren DeHaan, senior design editor for the DHS yearbook, Unsinkable, won for yearbook design.

Abby Mesaros was also recognized for newspaper design.

Mesaros said being a member of the Squall staff teaches students valuable teamwork skills.

"We learn how to manage our time and work together to put together a product we can be proud of," she said.

Journalism advisor Rod Satterthwaite said he is continually impressed with the caliber of talent the program attracts every year.

"I was really proud to see four Dexter students win awards. It's a clear indication that this year's group of journalism students will work to uphold the high quality tradition that Dexter High School journalism has come to be known for," he said. "In addition, there were 10 Dexter kids who went to the conference, and all of them created great work, learned from great instructors and came home better journalists than they were when they left."