Harrington named state's"Super Journalist" by Utah Press Association
The Utah Press Association has named Judge Memorial Catholic High School senior Katie Harrington as the "Super Journalist" for the state of Utah, 2008-09. Harrington is Editor-in-Chief of the award-winning Judge Memorial Bulldog Press.
According to the UPA, "this honor goes to a fearless student who has demonstrated 'above and beyond' capabilities, and has gone the extra mile to get information and has written stories on issues of importance."
Additionally, Judge Memorial's Bulldog Press earned first place from the Utah Press Association for newspapers in Classes 1A-3A. This honor brings with it a $500 award.
Harrington was acknowledged for her editorial leadership and her stories about college hazing, the dangers of texting and driving, and about her experience at Barack Obama's acceptance speech in Chicago on election night. Harrington will receive a $300 scholarship from the UPA.
“When I learned from Mr. (Chris) Sloan that I received this honor from the Utah Press Association my first reaction was that it finally made it all seem worth it,” said Harrington. “I work a lot with the Bulldog Press, easily six days a week and at least two Sundays a month. It’s a ton of work, and I’m really happy that the newspaper has been recognized for our quality.”
“Mr. Sloan, who is our advisor, is the sole reason I want to be a journalist,” said Harrington. “Aside from my parents, he is the most influential person in my life. Not only has he taught me so much, one of the best things about him is that he wants to learn from me and the rest of the staff. He’s the best.”
And Chris Sloan feels much the same way about Harrington.
“Katie is one of the hardest working editors I've ever had the pleasure to work with, and there have been many excellent students who have been editors of the Judge paper,” said Sloan. “She has a rare combination of talent and diligence, and it shows. The UPA chose her because of her impressive list of accomplishments. As an editor, she's outstanding, and as a writer, she is equally impressive.”
Harrington, daughter of Sharon Donovan and John Harrington of Salt Lake City, is president of Judge Memorial’s senior core. She was a member of the 2008 Homecoming Court and served as manager of the cross-country team. Harrington, who is a graduate of the J.E. Cosgriff Memorial Catholic School, volunteered at Cosgriff throughout the school year and is now employed by the school to work with their after-school program.
At this year’s annual Poetry Out Loud competition sponsored by the Utah Arts Council, Harrington placed second. She presented a poem written by Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet Phillip Levine, “Detroit, Tomorrow.” Harrington received a third place honor in the Book Cover category at the recent 2009 English Quest competition held at Weber State. She was an actress with Judge’s on-act production of “Waiting for Lefty” which recently won special recognition and received Straight Superiors (only two out of the 16 schools were so honored). The play was singled out by the judges from Southern Utah University for its "bold staging, intellectual depth and dramatic power."
When asked how she and her mother happened to be in Chicago on the evening of then President-elect Obama’s acceptance speech at Grant Park Harrington says it was just a total coincidence.
“The minute my mom and I got to our hotel, we ran the whole way to Grant Park,” said Harrington. “It was so crowded. We couldn’t see Mr. Obama but we could hear everything he said as clearly as though we were right up front. The most remarkable feeling, though, was the amount of respect in the Park. People were joyous and quiet and engaged; it was insane. It was an amazing experience.”
Harrington plans to attend the University of Utah in the fall with a double major of journalism and fine arts-graphic design.
“I’d like to work on both sides of publication, writing and layout,” said Harrington. “I’m not exactly sure what I want to do, but right now I’d say that writing for a major magazine is my goal.”
The Bulldog Press is a member of the Journalism Education Association and the National Scholastic Press Association. The newspaper has been awarded an NSPA top ten “Best of Show” for specialty news coverage in 2002, 2003 and 2004. This paper won the Salt Lake Tribune’s Fitzpatrick Journalism Excellence Award for 3A schools every year until the contest was discontinued in 2003.
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