Smithtown Today’s High School Reporter, Jenna Barbone Takes Home Three LI Press High School Journalism Awards
The team at Smithtown Today is enjoying a proud parent moment this week, along with our very own High School Reporter, Jenna Barbone and her family. Barbone took home three LI Press High School Journalism awards on Wednesday, held at Hofstra University’s John Cranford Adams Playhouse on the South Campus. The LI Press High School Journalism Awards honors student journalists from districts across Long Island. These awards not only stimulate the incentive to write, but also develop and nurture the necessary skills needed to pursue a career in Journalism.
Jenna Barbone took first place for her Food Commentary editorial; Goodbye Junk Food and Hello Healthy Eating, published in the Matador, which is the official newspaper of Smithtown High School East. The budding journalist received a second place award for the Media Column; iCloud Hacker Exposes Celebrities, also published in the Matador. But we were most proud of her third place victory for an online feature, which ran in Smithtown Today entitled; “The Dress” Used to Address an Important Issue, a thought provoking editorial about a viral photo and the awareness it brought to the Domestic Abuse epidemic.
Jenna will wrap up her high school career in June and move on to the next chapter of her life as a media communications major at SUNY Old Westbury in the Fall. The eager reporter has had the dream of becoming the face of New York News since she was old enough to tell her story. Jenna told us she has BIG plans for her future…
“I’m planning on writing for my college newspaper, The Catalyst and being apart of the campus television, Old Westbury TV. I would also like to continue writing for Smithtown Today News! Next summer or as soon as I can, I plan to apply for an intern position at News 12 Long Island or NBC in the city.” – Jenna Barbone
In addition to Barbone’s four year plan, she is currently working on writing her first Novel, which she hopes to see published in the near future. Jenna has studied filmography, screenwriting and Production for TV and Cinema and has plans to continue her pursuit with hopes of becoming a Cinematic triple threat. We asked Jenna what advice she’d give to her younger classmates, eager to become the Journalist she has clearly transformed into.
“My advice to anyone who would like to pursue writing as a career is not to give up and practice. I was never the best writer but it’s a muscle you need to strengthen. It comes natural to some but for others it takes time. It’s also important to stay motivated. My laptop screen background is a quote that reads; ‘Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up’… I believe this is so true and I leave it there for inspiration.” – Jenna Barbone
Smithtown Today would like to officially congratulate Miss Jenna Barbone on the recognition she so genuinely deserves. We have all the confidence in the world in Jenna and look forward to her first Televised Debut with eager anticipation.