A ballroom fills with raucous noise as excited high school students file through the door to their seats, eager to learn if they received any awards. The members of CNHS Media were among these anticipatory faces this weekend at the fall National Scholastic Journalism Convention, which was held in Indianapolis at the JW Marriott.

“It was a really cool experience to see that many kids that are so dedicated to journalism,” sophomore Caitlin Ward said. “I was pretty excited about the awards ceremony because I wanted to see how we did compared to the other schools from around the country.”

Students at the convention had the opportunity to attend sessions led by advisers and teachers in the hope of improving personal skills or staffs overall.

“I thought the classes were really interesting,” sophomore Cole Bennett said. “I think it was a really good experience and I really learned a lot; I’m excited to put my new skills into use on staff.”

CNHS Media received the awards of Best in Show (sixth place, CNHSMedia.com), Best in Show (third place, Log), Best in Show (ninth place, Blueprint), Best Infographic (first place, Karol Espinoza), Best Sports Reaction Photo (ninth place, Paige Grider) and Pacemaker Finalist (The Triangle and Log).