Judges name Krista Fleming Journalist of the Year

March 4, 2025

News

TAJE State Director Lisa Roskens and Adviser Steven Jones surprise 2025 Texas Journalist of the Year Krista Fleming at a ceremony at Hebron High School on March 4, 2025. Fleming will represent Texas in the national Journalism Education Association contest in April. (Peyton Kuschmeider, The Hawk Eye)

Senior Krista Fleming of Lewisville Independent School District’s Hebron High School will represent the Lone Star State at the Spring JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention April 24-26 in Seattle, Washington, to see if she also will win the title of national Journalist of the Year.

Members of the Texas Association of Journalism Educators surprised Fleming in a March 4 ceremony at her school and told her she had won the Texas JOY title, which comes with a plaque and a $1,500 scholarship sponsored by Balfour. Judges named her portfolio the best in the state.

“In both her superior quality writing samples and her insightful reflections, Krista demonstrates a sophisticated writing style,” one judge said. “In a beautifully written personal narrative, Krista tells how journalism helped her find her identity. Now, she uses her passion as an interviewer and writer to help others find theirs.”

Krista Fleming of Hebron High School teaches the staff about the best things to look for as a peer editor during one of the impromptu training sessions hosted by her and her managing editor throughout the year.

The judging panel analyzed applicants based on a rubric established by JEA that focuses on 11 categories, including leadership, writing, reporting and visual communication skills.

“You are a terrific reporter who really thinks about coverage and storytelling,” another judge told Fleming. “Reaching out to people on campus with weak English skills was a fantastic idea and managed to represent the diversity of your community.”

Fleming also will be recognized April 13 at the ILPC Spring Convention along with Will Clifford, Dallas’s St. Mark’s School of Texas, first runner-up; Sofia Ayala, Prosper High School, second runner-up; Elizabeth Chalmers, San Antonio’s Tom C. Clark High School, third runner-up; and Isabel Multer, Prosper High School, fourth runner-up.

TAJE, based in Buda, Texas, near Austin, works with JEA to provide journalism teachers and their students with the best resources and opportunities to use in telling the stories of their high schools via publications and broadcasts around the state and the nation.

For more information, email State Director Lisa Roskens, statedirector@taje.org; President Michael Reeves, president@taje.org; UIL liaison and Interscholastic League Press Association Director Alyssa Boehringer, aboehringer@uiltexas.org; or TAJE Executive Director Cindy Todd, director@taje.org.