South Dade Senior High Journalism Program Wins Big at State Competition

The South Dade Senior High School journalism program traveled to Orlando to attend the annual Florida Scholastic Press Association (FSPA) state convention.

Students attended workshops, participated in competitions, and made connections with other schools from across the state from April 9 through April 11.

At the convention, the yearbook program — the Southernaire — won 18 awards across multiple categories.

Junior Marialaura Garcia Marrero, a photographer and designer, attended the conference for the third time this year. She has had a goal to win an All-Florida since her freshman year, and this year, she finally achieved it in the feature/student life photography category.

All-Florida awards are given to students who score a 44/50 or higher on an entry.

“The moment felt surreal since that's all I've ever aimed for since I joined,” Garcia Marrero said. “Finally hitting that goal was something that I'm proud of.”

Valentina D'Alessandro, a sophomore, won three All-Floridas. She also won a Best of the Best — where one student is awarded among all All-Florida wins in a category — for a non-student personality portrait.

“Winning three All-Floridas to me meant more than just awards, it proved to me that God really does have a plan,” D’Alessandro said.

D’Alessandro described struggling with finding her place at times, but her successes helped reassure her of her place in the program and on the staff.

“Getting these awards woke me up again to realize that I do have potential to be someone somewhere in the world,” she said. “When I was told I won a Best of the Best, I felt like I had proved not just myself wrong but the people who doubted me and made me feel like what I did wasn’t enough at certain points.”

Junior Jaylee Denis also won three All-Florida awards in the poetry writing and Florida nature photo categories. Jonathan Pena was another All-Florida recipient, winning alongside D’Alessandro in the personality portrait - student category.

The team also competed in ‘On the Spot’ competitions, winning an honorable mention in the photo story category.

Just days after getting back from the trip, the 72nd edition of the Southernaire yearbook was officially submitted.

“This team faced adversity and uncertainty and powered through to create an amazing yearbook and also represent themselves really well at FSPA,” said Patrick Sicher, the adviser of the program.

“We set a standard for ourselves and are constantly pursuing higher standards for our work.”

The wins from the competition add to dozens of other awards the program has won in the past nine years since Sicher has taken over as adviser.