In the annual Best of Show competition held on April 17 by the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA), junior Bri Davies placed seventh for her Jan. 10 blog “Generation Great: A Glimpse into Their Lives” about her nonprofit tutoring program.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the awards ceremony was streamed online. Normally, it culminates the Spring National High School Journalism Convention, which was scheduled for April 16-18 in Nashville, Tennessee, but was canceled.
Davies said she was surprised she placed seventh in the national competition, which consisted of many categories. Davies competed against bloggers from large and small high schools.
“I didn’t even know I was entered into anything,” said Davies. “But I thought it was pretty cool that my blog resonated with people enough for it to actually place!”
Davies said the children she tutors inspire her to write the blogs.
“It’s rare that I don’t walk away from a tutoring session with a new-found respect for something these kids are going through,” she said. “All of the successes these kids are newly achieving is something worth recognizing and something they should be proud of, so when they hear that I’ve put something about them in my school newspaper, that always makes them super happy!”
Davies said she is happy the blog can shine a light on underprivileged kids and their experiences in education.
“I think my blog offers something very few do,” she said. “Not many people know what these children that I work with go through. The most shocking thing is that the kids are still so happy, kindhearted and eager to learn despite their circumstances.
“Most people think that underserved inner-city youth suffer in school because they have no motivation to complete their work or learn anything new. In fact, they love learning and want to succeed — they just aren’t always given the proper attention and tools to do so.”
— Dylan Margolis
