Kay Selected High School Journalist

Kay was chosen from a record number of highly qualified high school journalists from the MDDC area who participated in the most competitive contest to date.

The panel of judges especially noted Kay’s reporting skills, which one editor said, "surpasses what I see from many college-level candidates."

Jean Thompson of The Baltimore Sun, chair of the MDDC Journalism Education Committee that made the selection, noted: "While we reviewed many fine candidates, we were most impressed with [Julia’s] willingness to tackle difficult topics and to dig, dig and dig some more for the truth."

Kay started her journalism career in the fifth grade when she was selected to review software programs for The Washington Post’s monthly magazine Fast Forward. In high school, she has served on the Silver Chips staff as sports beat reporter and page editor before being named managing news editor this year. She has tackled tough stories including low math test scores in Montgomery County, guns in her school, and allegations by her school’s principal of racism in the county’s school system.

Blair High School journalism teacher John Mathwin said of Kay joining the Silver Chips staff: "Almost immediately she became a star of the newspaper staff by turning what looked like an ordinary story into an exciting and important story. The transformation did not happen by chance. It happened because of Julia’s determination to do a good job."

The award includes a $1,500 cash prize and will be presented March 1 at the MDDC Press Association’s annual Editorial Awards Luncheon at the Capital Hilton Hotel in Washington, DC.

The contest is sponsored by the MDDC Press Foundation which works to enhance newspaper journalism in the region and encourage students to pursue careers in journalism.