(COVINGTON, La.) — On Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016, the annual Louisiana Scholastic Press Association (LSPA) conference was held at the LSU Student Union and was sponsored by the Manship School of Mass Communication. The members of St. Paul’s journalism, media production, and yearbook classes took the school day off to attend, and they ended up winning numerous awards, including Best Overall Newspaper and sharing the award of Best Overall Media Program.

“The program has grown so much,” journalism adviser Christi Simoneaux said. “On our first year, we only had about seven guys and won no awards. They got Domino’s Pizza for us for lunch because they didn’t have to feed as many people. It just shows how much the program has grown.”

This is the journalism class’s fifth year, media production’s third year, (though they have only been a class for two) and yearbook’s first year attending. Simoneaux and yearbook adviser Andrew Dart accompanied the students along with a few parents that volunteered as chaperones.

The conference started out with a keynote presentation by Steve Myers, editor of The Lens, and afterwards, there were four sessions where students could attend different seminars given by real LSU professors. The topics ranged from Photoshop skills to interviewing techniques.

“We are pleased to present the conference every year,” director of LSU student media Steve Buttry said. “In addition to providing recognition for outstanding journalism programs such as St. Paul’s, LSPA seeks to present programming that will continue the journalism education of the students attending, as well as a fun experience.”

There was also a tour given of the school’s grounds, which included the campus’s very own broadcasting and filming rooms, complete with soundboards, cameras, and even a green screen.

“The tour was very inviting,” Paper Wolf staff writer Colin Rice said. “I enjoyed seeing the post-production room where everything gets done. Seeing it really reassured me of my passion to become a journalist.”

In the middle of all of this, lunch was provided to all attendees, and the students were invited to bring their food into the ballroom for the awards ceremony.

“The conference was an absolute hit because of the cooperation and enthusiasm of all attendees, especially St. Paul’s,” conference director Brandon Rouzan said. “There was a total of 31 high schools and 475 students and advisers that attended this year’s LSPA Fall Conference. With the inclusion of our sponsors and session instructors, we had a total of 505 participants for this year’s conference.”

Among those 31 high schools, the St. Paul’s media program took home a great deal of awards between The Conifer, Guerilla Wolves, and The Paper Wolf.

Sweeps Categories:

•      Best overall newspaper (The Paper Wolf)
•      Best overall student media program (Co-winner with Catholic High)

INDIVIDUAL CATEGORIES: 18 TOTAL

Conifer: 2 AWARDS

•      3rd Place: Sports Photo
•      3rd Place: Copywriting (Nick Ashton)

Guerilla Wolves: 5 AWARDS

•      1st Place: Entertainment Pak (“Rest in Peace, Marvin”)
•      2nd Place: Entertainment Pak (“Mystery Adventures with Stanuel Samuelson”)
•      Honorable Mention: News Feature (“Guerrilla Wolves Go to ComicCon”)
•      Honorable Mention: Videography (“The Man Behind the Wifi”)
•      Honorable Mention: Newscast (“Guerrilla Wolves News – Ep 9”)

The Paper Wolf: 11 AWARDS

•      1st Place: News Writing (Luc Hebert – on site competition)
•      1st Place: Social Media (Paper Wolf Instagram)
•      1st Place: Photography (Luc Hebert – “New Gym”)
•      1st Place: Arts & Entertainment (Kyle Hladky – “Book Review”)
•      2nd Place: Social Media (Paper Wolf Twitter)
•      2nd Place: Sports (Nick Ashton – “LHSAA Select/Non-Select”)
•      2nd Place: Photography (Nick Ashton – “Patrick Napier Tills Garden”)
•      3rd Place: Story Graphics (AJ LaCroix – “Class of 2016 College Plans”)
•      3rd Place: Arts & Entertainment (Tyler Petro – “Oscar Rant”)
•      3rd Place: Sports (Tyler Petro – “Fowl Play”)
•      3rd Place: Social Media (Paper Wolf Facebook)