Charlize Wang

Winged Post Editor-in-Chief Katerina Matta and Managing Editor Young Min were selected as first place winners from a pool of around 2,000 students. “This page [shows] how much we paid attention to detail and how much we pushed ourselves to ensure the best quality that we could,” Young said.

2024-25 Winged Post Editor-in-Chief Katerina Matta (12) and Managing Editor Young Min (12) placed first in the Single Page Layout category to represent California at the 2025 National Federation of Press Women National High School Communications Contest on Wednesday.

Katerina and Young were selected as first place winners from a pool of around 2,000 students, marking the first time in Harker journalism history where students have claimed a national-level first place in this contest. Their award came with a $100 prize and an invitation to the National High School Luncheon, held during the NFPW National Conference on Sept. 13 in Golden, Colo. 

“This page [shows] how much we paid attention to detail and how much we pushed ourselves to ensure the best quality that we could,” Young said. “We tried out so many different things. Even if we had something good, we tried our best to see what we could do to make it better, and not just say, ‘We have it now, let’s just roll with it and finish it up.’”

Their winning submission, titled “Put your hands up for Harker Day,” celebrated Harker’s annual community-wide event and was the front page of the second Winged Post issue of the 2024-25 school year. The layout featured a half-circle composition with five photographs capturing key moments from the day, from performing arts shows to the tug-of-war competition. Director of Journalism Whitney Huang explained how the Winged Post staff examined a variety of print formats when brainstorming the page design.

“Whether it be looking at other newspapers for inspiration, or existing magazines and even yearbooks, this year we really searched through all sorts of different types of mediums,” Huang said. “We were fascinated with this idea of moving from 2D to 3D. We really wanted photos to feel like they could almost pop out at you.”

The spread’s most eye-catching element was a dominant image of football player Jackson Powell (11) jutting out of the frame, creating a “larger than life” effect intended to reflect the energy and excitement of the day. Judges praised the page’s creative visuals, “clean approach” and effective combination of “constraint and breakout.” 

Originally conceived as a clock-shaped design to mirror the full-day aspect of Harker Day, the layout went through several revisions. Katerina and Young ultimately chose a cleaner, more image-focused design that enhanced the visual impact of the page. Huang emphasized the importance of originality and determination when pursuing design.

“We don’t know what we’re going to try, and that’s the thing that I really want to instill in my students, just the feeling of [squeezing] out your creative juices,” Huang said. “If we look beyond the status quo for refinement, it’s almost setting a new standard or pushing the envelope, and that’s where it’s going into uncharted waters. Let’s see what we can do and then make it happen, and put it out into the world and see how it goes.”

To reach the national stage, Katerina and Young’s entry first advanced through a competitive selection process at the California Press Woman’s High School Communications Contest, where it placed first in the state. The design is also considered for the Julie Hoffman Memorial Best of the Best Award, which is awarded to a single outstanding entry out of all the first place national winners. Recipients of this award receive $250, a certificate and the opportunity to speak at the National High School Luncheon.

In addition to Katerina and Young’s award, Harker TALON also earned top honors at the national competition, placing second in the Yearbook Copywriting section for a page on Harker’s fall play headlined “Forget Us Not.” TALON Editor-in-Chief Yifan Li (12) designed and edited the page, while Academics Editor Charlie Folk (12) and Sports Editor Katie Tcheng (11) reported the copy.

These national awards mark an important milestone in the Harker journalism program. Katerina dedicated the award to both her and Young’s teamwork as well as the collaborative innovation of the Winged Post staff.

“We’re both really proud of how all of our staff came together,” Katerina said. “We had a lot of different elements going on, from the actual people writing the content of the brief to all of the photographers, especially since Harker Day is such a long event and there’s so many different things happening at once. Being able to put everyone’s work together and synergize it all and win an award for it is a really warm experience, and it makes me really proud of us as a staff.”