Ben Henschel, a Shawnee Mission East senior, is the 2020 Kansas Student Journalist of the Year, awarded by Kansas Scholastic Press Association (KSPA). As the state Student Journalist of the Year, Henschel will be considered for the national competition, which takes place in April in Nashville.
Henschel submitted a portfolio of his work to a panel of journalism educators and journalists for consideration.
“Ben is the prototype of what a ’21st Century Journalist’ should look like. And… he’s only in high school,” one judge wrote, according to the Kansas Scholastic Press Association website. “ If he maintains this path, this is a person who will have numerous opportunities in the journalism field. The industry needs more like him.”
Henschel is the online editor-in-chief of The Harbinger and broadcast editor at SM East. He has served on The Harbinger staff for the past two years, using his broadcasting and digital skills in redesigning Harbinger Online, and managing content.
Henschel is the third journalism student in the past four years at Shawnee Mission East to be named State Journalist of the Year. Each of these honorees has been instructed by Dow Tate, journalism instructor.