Journalism student honored for opinion piece
A Dripping Springs High senior earned a prestigious award for his opinion piece on the effect global warming could have on our planet.
Jaxon Thornton, who is the editor-in-chief of “MyDSHS News,” the school’s student newspaper, won a Gold Circle Certificate of Merit from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association for his opinion piece,
The piece originally ran in the February 2017 edition of “MyDSHS.”
The category Thornton was honored for is “Personal Opinion: Off-Campus Issues.”
Jaxson’s piece shared and supported his position that a powerful few with interests in the fossil fuel and oil industries continue to hold back necessary progress in meeting the challenge of climate change that will soon reach the point of no return.
His call to action was that we ensure “our collective legacy does not go down in the history books as one of greed and disaster.”
This year, the Columbia Scholastic Press Association 34th Gold Circle Awards program attracted 4,166 yearbook and digital media entries, as well as 7,093 print news and magazine entries.
These entries were produced by students at colleges, universities, and secondary schools through the United States and abroad from June 2016 to June 2017.
Student journalists working on these print or electronic media submitted entries in 42 yearbook categories and 50 digital media categories.
Judges cited a total of 1,080 winners for either First, Second or Third Place, or for Certificates of Merit for those deemed worthy of honorable mention in a category.
18 Tigers honored for National Merit Program
Dripping Springs High School Principal Joe Burns announced 18 students have been recognized as “Commended” in the 2018 National Merit Program. In addition, three were selected as National Merit Semifinalists, as announced recently.
To be chosen as Commended Scholar, students must have placed among the top five percent of more than 1.5 million students nationally who took the PSAT/National Merit Scholars Qualifying Test (NMSQT). Approximately 34,000 Commended Scholars are being recognized nationwide.
Commended students from Dripping Springs High School are:
- Meredith Anderson
- Emily Barefield
- Nikhil Clayton
- Emily Curran
- Logan Dundon
- Ravelle Dundon
- Aili Edwards
- Ashley Fitzpatrick
- David Garcia
- Gracie Griffin
- Abagail Martin
- Eli McIntire-Gavlick
- Mathew McKiddie
- William Nix
- Sean O’Connor
- Christopher Schaefer
- Mark Tressler
- Cameron Wilson
