Sacred Hearts Academy took home its second consecutive first-place award as Best in State at the 55th annual Hawaii High School Journalism Awards on Thursday.

The HHSJA win came with $200 in prize money, while Moanalua High School, which came in second place, received $100. Hawaii Baptist Academy took home the third-place award and $50 in prize money.

“Many of these students end up in university programs, whether it be here or on the continent,” said Jay Hartwell, president of the Hawaii Publishers Association, which helps to organize and co-sponsor the awards ceremony. “This opportunity to be recognized in a statewide event such as this is compelling for many of them. And the quality of the work is excellent.”

The awards ceremony was held in person for the first time in three years at the University of Hawaii at Manoa Campus Center, where students and their advisers from participating schools across Oahu attended.

Most valuable staffers, as well as the winners of the Hawaii Journalists of the Year award — a separate contest that recognizes seniors involved in student journalism for one or more years — were also acknowledged at the Thursday awards ceremony.

Devin Panalal of ‘Iolani School was awarded first place and $250 in prize money in the Hawaii Journalists of the Year competition, while Shane Kaneshiro of McKinley High School took home the $150 second- place award. Charlize Piliahola Gaudiello of Mid-Pacific Institute received third place and $100.

Paige Lum, a senior who was recognized as this year’s Most Valuable Staffer at the Sacred Hearts Academy Ka Leo, said that she and many of her peers hadn’t studied journalism prior to this school year.

“Just being a part of this, it’s really a great experience,” Lum said. “Because of this class, a lot of us want to be journalists now.”

Throughout the past school year, the class met challenges in juggling schoolwork while putting out content, Lum said. However, she found that she and her classmates excelled in supporting one another despite their busy schedules, enabling them to complete their articles and media pieces on deadline.

“We were always helping each other,” she said. “In the end everything came out fine, and it was just a really big relief for all of us.”

Ka Leo adviser Alyssa Myers said seeing her students’ success has been exciting, especially now that their work is being recognized in person again. She was most proud to see her students persevere to meet tight deadlines and transition back from working virtually to in person.

“A story fell through, and we were required to put together a photo essay at the last minute, and they did amazing,” Myers said. “Those ended up doing really well in the contest, so I think they work well under pressure.”

Hartwell acknowledged the effort put in by staff at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, who dedicate hours each year to tasks such as notifying judges of students’ work, tabulating results and collating judges’ comments.

“There’s a lot of work that goes on,” Hartwell said. “It takes a lot of time, and so we’re very grateful.”

He added that the competition gives students a goal to strive for, encouraging them to produce excellent work. And although many who study journalism in high school might not decide to study it in the future, the experience teaches them invaluable life skills.

“It doesn’t really matter whether people end up in journalism after this experience,” Hartwell said. “Working with teams, handling deadlines, getting information and making it understandable to a wider audience, serving as watchdogs in their schools and communities, is a critical, critical part of their development.”

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Linsey Dower covers ethnic and cultural affairs and is a corps member of Report for America, a national service organization that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues and communities.