The West Side Story garnered three sweepstakes awards from the Iowa High School Press Association on Oct. 23, winning second place in Graphics, Writing and Photography for large schools for ’13-’14 school year issues.

 WSS staffers also landed awards in IHSPA On-the-Spot contests. Isabelle Robles ’17 won first place in the news writing category and Lushia Anson ’15 won second place. Eugenia Chen ’17 won second place in the photo category.

“The WSS staffers never fail to impress me with their enthusiasm for and dedication to everything journalism. These awards are a great testament to their drive and inventiveness,” said Sara Whittaker, adviser of the WSS.

The annual IHSPA conference drew Iowa journalism students, advisers and experts to the Iowa Memorial Union downtown. Students participated in sessions dedicated to anything from covering controversial topics to developing social media strategies in the newsroom. The keynote speaker was designer, writer and designer Tim Harrower.