McLean High School’s newsmagazine, The Highlander, received the Pacemaker Award from the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA). Its editors are Nicholas Lohman, Dasha Makarishcheva and Ava Rotondo. The staff’s adviser is Lindsay Benedict.
Student journalists who work on The Highlander news publication have also been named finalists in several 2020 NSPA individual awards categories.
Being named a finalist in any of these categories means these student journalists are among the top 10 in the nation.
McLean is the only school in Virginia to be represented in any of these categories.
Finalists in individual awards categories include: News Story of the Year — “Supporting Future Changemakers” by Marina Qu; Social Justice Reporting — “Coming Clean” by Heran Essayas, Kyle Hawley, Nicholas Lohman and Ava Rotondo; Local Climate Change Reporting — “A Scorched Earth” by Ben Brooks, Dua Mobin, Marina Qu and Rebeka Rafi; Newsmagazine Cover of the Year — Coronavirus edition cover by Dasha Makarishcheva and Artist of the Year — Dasha Makarishcheva.
