July 28, 2025 – The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) is proud to announce Sydney Ortiz, sports editor at The KP Times of Kingwood Park High School in Texas, as the winner of our first-ever NAHJ Gradebook Writing Contest for High School Students.
Sydney’s winning piece, For the Kids, tells the story of the Salima Marcano family, who left Venezuela in 2017 to seek a better future in the United States. With Temporary Protected Status and their asylum application pending, the family has faced significant challenges — yet Sydney’s reporting captures their strength, determination, and the hope they’ve instilled in their children, Fabio and Flavio, now thriving at Kingwood Park High.
“Sydney Ortiz’s story illustrates the multifaceted experience of immigrant families, from the delicate conversations parents must have with their children to the challenges of starting over in a new country,” wrote the judges, who praised the story for its depth, empathy, and narrative power.
As the contest winner, Sydney receives a $250 prize and a complimentary NAHJ student membership, joining a national network of journalists and mentors committed to inclusive storytelling.
More than two dozen students from across the country submitted entries to the contest, focused on stories of Latino and underserved communities. The judging committee, a panel of professional journalists,were highly impressed with the quality of submissions, which they reviewed during NAHJ’s 2025 conference in Chicago earlier this month. We are grateful for their time, dedication and thoughtful review.
The new contest underscores NAHJ’s commitment to nurturing young journalists and expanding membership to high school students. This will be an annual competition, leading up to the annual conference each summer.
Congratulations, Sydney — and thank you to all the student journalists who participated. Your voices are powerful, and the future of journalism is in good hands.
About NAHJ
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) is the largest organization of Latino journalists in the United States, dedicated to the recognition and professional advancement of Hispanics in the news industry. Established in April 1984, NAHJ works to increase the number of Latinos in newsrooms and to promote fair, accurate, and inclusive coverage of Latino communities.
For more information, visit NAHJ.org or follow us on X @NAHJ.
Press contact: Andrew Sherry, press@nahj.org, (315)954-7571