Preparation is the key to success.
Spending hours on end looking at packets filled with journalism materials and story prompts to continue studying for the big day. District UIL slowly creeps around the corner, and students are excited to spend their day surrounded by their local UIL community to enjoy the last meet of the 2023-2024 year.
With the end of UIL coming up, and the district contest set for April 6, students who are involved in the five journalism contest are slowly acquiring the 50 points to gain the privilege of being named to the All-State Journalism staff.
“I’ve been working in achieving all-state journalism all year by competing in every single event at every possible meet that’s possible,” senior Jakeline Diaz said. “Competing in all events without placing guarantees me five points plus feedback. Along with competing in every event, I’ve been working extra hard on perfecting my editorials at the meets since I’m able to place and therefore get more points which helps me get to all state journalism staff much faster.”
Other students are also getting close to being able to get all-state journalism honors as well, as they continue preparing.
“To try to achieve my all-state journalism staff points I have been going to all of UIL meets and compete in as many competitions as I can,” sophomore Ashley Briones said.
Years of experience also contributed to getting all the appropriate amount of points faster, so it helped one student get all-state even quicker.
“Getting all-state journalism staff feels rewarding because I never thought I would be able to earn it before district even began,” senior Stone Chapman said.
To have a final chance to get all the points necessary, students continue to prepare for district UIL.
“Personally, I’m competing in speech and editorial writing so both require different preparation methods,” Diaz said. “I’ve been preparing for an editorial by practicing editorial prompts from previous years and have been actively competing in editorials at every meet so I’m well prepared. To get even more practice, I’ll occasionally whip up an editorial for the newspaper with a real-world problem so that it feels as if I’m at a real UIL meet. With speech, it all depends on the luck of the topic.”
The meet will take place at Caney Creek High School, the school where many of the competitors are happy to return to.
“I’m most excited about being able to meet new people, compete with them, and also getting to spend time with my friends,” Briones said. “I’m preparing for district by practicing journalism in class.”
Being able to spend a long day with the people you love the most of one of the biggest pros of being a part of the UIL groups for most students.
“I’m excited to spend my last district UIL meet surrounding myself with the people who have been a part of the happiest moments of high school,” Diaz said. “UIL has been a big part of me throughout high school so competing for a chance at regionals is something I’m also looking forward to.”
