You were a champion in their eyes. 

Keelin Davis won the 2022 Journalism Education Association (JEA) Journalist of the Year. 

Journalist of the Year (JOY) is an award that recognizes the top high school journalists in the country on a state and national level. Some of the pieces he included in his portfolio are what pushed his portfolio to win. Winning this award brought Davis many new opportunities for his next steps in journalism and his life. 

The JEA contest lets senior journalism students submit a portfolio of their work throughout their years on staff to compete against other senior journalism students for the award. “I prepared a portfolio of my journalistic work over all three years I was on staff. Closer to submission time, I really tried to branch out in the content I was creating and I wanted to push myself creatively in ways that I hadn’t before,” Davis said. Davis won in Feb. 2022 of his senior year after being on the Livewire Staff since his sophomore year. ”I was very confident in myself and my work over the years that I could compete for the award but it still did not keep me from being as excited as I was when I found out I won. I knew I had put the work in and I felt like I could win and it all paid off,” Davis said. 

During his senior year, Davis held the positions of Website Editor and Executive Editor for the Livewire staff. He was also elected as Charged Media President, a new media business internship and graphic design class. “I believe that my diversity in my portfolio impressed the judges the most. I had multiple pieces for nearly every category along with my leadership positions on Livewire and Charged Media,” Davis said. 

Davis had many different pieces in his portfolio, all differing from writing, design, photography, and other categories. ”My favorite piece in my portfolio, without a doubt, is my feature on Coach Cole Britt. We grew up always playing football against one another and during our high school years, we became good friends. To watch him turn from a player to a coach and grow his love for the game over the years has been so good to watch from afar and I felt that my feature gave him some spotlight that he deserves and he is one of the hardest workers I know,” Davis said. The pieces included in Davis’ portfolio were all pieces that showed his hard work but ones that he put passion into and showed through.

Davis was able to get his name out in the field and get recognized for his talent and hard work. ”Winning this award really gave me the recognition that I felt like I never got in a way. it put more eyes on my work and I am really proud of that. it also brought me the chance to compete nationally which is a great opportunity,” Davis said. This award acknowledged and awarded his time on a journalism staff and everything he had done in his years for that program. ”I think that winning this award helped my self-confidence in myself and my work. I tend to underestimate the work that I can do and it keeps me from pushing myself to my full potential. By getting such an honorable award, it makes me believe in myself a whole lot more and I know I am capable of so much more than I think,” Davis said.