Every year, the Journalism Education Association Convention chooses the six best student journalists in the nation. This year, one of those awards on Saturday went to senior Ava Knapp, co-editor-in-chief of The Paly Voice, at a national convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The award follows Knapp’s selection in February as the California State Journalist of the Year.
Her portfolio for the national finalist status was chosen from a select pool of state winners by a panel of veteran educators and professional journalists. Knapp is the first journalist at Palo Alto High School to reach the national stage since 2019, when Ashley Hitchings did so, and the first ever journalist to reach this point from The Paly Voice.
According to Knapp, gaining this recognition felt like a culmination of her journalistic work.
“This whole process has been incredibly exciting and a meaningful opportunity to reflect on my work as a Paly journalist,” Knapp stated. “I feel genuinely grateful to have been named a finalist and to be recognized at such a high level.”
The national winner of the top JOY award was Logan Day from Caney Creek High School in Conroe, Texas. Knapp said she thinks Day was a deserving candidate.
“I’m really happy for Logan Day, who was ultimately named National Journalist of the Year,” Knapp said. “I had the chance to meet him on a panel I moderated at the convention, and he struck me as incredibly deserving and talented.”
Knapp began journalism in 2023 at The Paly Voice as a staff writer, and worked her way up to co-editor-in-chief. According to her adviser, Paul Kandell, Knapp’s reporting is the gold standard for Paly journalism.
“Ava represents the best of student journalism — someone who isn’t afraid to step outside the classroom to cover the stories that matter,” Kandell said. “Whether she is navigating complex legal reporting in a federal courtroom or leading her peers on The Paly Voice, her work is defined by its maturity, rigor and empathy.”
Knapp’s portfolio features a range of impactful work, from a feature on a Cambodian cyber-scam industry, to reporting on a mental health panel for student athletes.
According to Knapp, she plans to continue reporting at the University of Maryland and connect journalism with her interest in economics.
Knapp’s recognition represents a breakthrough for The Paly Voice, which has never before had a JOY candidate reach the national stage. She first learned she’d earned the California state award in a surprise classroom ceremony in February.
For more information on the award or to view Ava Knapp’s portfolio, visit www.avaknapp.com.
