The yearbook and newspaper staffs traveled to the Wyndham Orlando Resort for the Florida Scholastic Press Association state convention from Thursday, April 23 to Saturday, April 25. Student journalists from across the state gathered to compete in contests simulating the tight deadlines of real world journalism and to attend keynotes and workshops hosted by industry professionals.

The BluePrint (newspaper) and Fusion (yearbook) staffs, both nationally acclaimed publications, were awarded All-Florida recognition at the FSPA awards banquet out of 300 other school publications.

BluePrint Student Connection editor Adeline Davis also won first place in the poetry category for the On the Spot contests, which took place at the convention on Thursday.

“I walked into the [competition] room of 30 people and thought, ‘No way I’m going to win this.’ Everyone took so long and it took me 20 minutes,” Davis said. “I was completely shocked.”

In the Spring Digital contest submissions, the Fusion staff won Best of the Best titles in the Sports Reaction Photo, Yearbook Student Life Copy and Yearbook Sports Copy categories.

Journalism adviser Brit Taylor also ended his four-year term as FSPA vice president. Rory Cooksey, the adviser at Deerfield Beach, will assume his position next year.

“It’s always so crazy to see so many kids passionate about journalism, which I think is my favorite part about FSPA,” BluePrint editor-in-chief Spencer Thompson said. “It’s this giant blend of different personalities and techniques, which is what makes it so unique year after year.”