On Saturday, April 30, ten Journalism 2 students along with their advisor, Mrs. Galloy, travelled to Richwoods High School in Peoria to compete against thirteen other schools for the IHSA Journalism Sectionals. These aspiring journalists placed fourth overall, ultimately placing in 13 out of 15 categories allowing them to advance to the state competition.  “I’m extremely proud of everyone who represented Joliet West at sectionals, it was a total team effort,” said advisor Jennifer Galloy. “Our goal was to make it to state once again with winning a medal being our main objective.”                                

Eastern Illinois University  hosted the state competition on May 6. The following students attended for their sectional wins: Connor Relyea 3rd place for broadcast news reporting, Michelle Lega 1st place for infographics, Michelle Lozano 3rd place for sports writing and 3rd place for yrbk copy writing, Bianca Sarver 1st place for feature photography, Jessica Nunez 2nd place for feature writing, and Elissa Chudwin 2nd place for headline writing. State was a tough competition, with over seventy-five schools competing and at least twenty-one students in each category. However, that did not stop Jessica Nunez from winning 2nd place in Feature Writing. Nunez is the first student to win at state in a long time. “I was completely shocked when I found out because I was not that confident of myself but deep down wanted it badly,” Nunez said. “I am so proud of myself, maybe I have a future in Journalism after all.”