MVHS’s literary magazine La Pluma and newsmagazine El Estoque both won the National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker Award at the JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention in Minneapolis, held from April 16-18. El Estoque previously earned the Columbia Scholastic Press Association Golden Crown on March 20 and was named a School Newspapers Online Distinguished Site on April 17, recognizing the publication as one of the top high school student journalism programs in the nation.
The Pacemaker Award is considered one of the highest honors in scholastic journalism. It is awarded to student publications that demonstrate excellence in writing, design, leadership and coverage, setting the standard for other programs. FUHSD English Curriculum Lead and El Estoque co-adviser Julia Satterthwaite says earning multiple national awards in one year reflects the dedication students bring to the program.
“We often hear feedback that El Estoque is better or just as good as professional media organizations, particularly when covering the City of Cupertino, and that’s so accurate,” Satterthwaite said. “I think we have something really special here.”
Satterthwaite highlights how competitive national journalism has become, with programs across the country constantly improving and learning from one another, which she believes makes these awards even more noteworthy. However, she points out that MVHS students and El Estoque staff sometimes overlook these awards despite their high status.
“It’s a really good celebration of all the stuff we’ve done, and I think MVHS students take it for granted. It’s like, ‘Oh yeah, we won another award, big deal,’” Satterthwaite said. “But there are programs that, when they win their first award at a convention, the kids are crying and so excited. In our program, there’s almost a feeling of numbness, and they don’t recognize how cool it is to be one of the best in the nation. It’s a big deal.”
Jillian Ju, senior and co-editor-in-chief of both El Estoque and La Pluma, believes La Pluma’s staff creates literary magazines for the love of art rather than for awards. However, they also note that the Pacemaker Award honors the strong community built around the publication, making the recognition a meaningful result of the club’s passion.
“Everyone does a lot of hard work, but I think the staff on La Pluma do it without the expectation that they’re going to get some kind of award,” Ju said. “For El Estoque, that’s a little bit more prevalent; we submit for so many awards, so sometimes you see people who are writing a really good story and although they do it for the love of the game, at the same time, there’s that thing in the back of their mind where it’s like, when it comes time for awards, I’m gonna push the story for recognition.”
Beyond the awards, Ju says that leading both publications has meant balancing deadlines, editing responsibilities and extracurricular commitments, to the point where much of their workload now comes outside the classroom. They believe that those demanding experiences and older mentors have helped them grow as a storyteller and leader.
“Since eighth grade, I really wanted to do creative writing, so going into ninth grade, I was super anxious about MVHS being a STEM-heavy school,” Ju said. “It was a big anxiety of mine. But I did Writing for Publication, and I ended up really liking the class for its human angle and its interaction with the community. I then joined El Estoque and La Pluma and worked my way up the ladder, making it a really valuable experience, especially because the mentors before me understood the unique position of MVHS and were still able to dedicate themselves to their craft.”
