Peter Radosh
Writer of the Year Application

“In fall I like to”

Then ... nothing, no more clues, documentation, or evidence as to what seven-year-old me was thinking about that day in October. It was the first time I saw a computer, let alone used one, and I was so lost in the maze of computer keys that I had barely written the prompt by the time our 20 minutes of computer time had ended.

I’d bet my left foot that hardly anyone remembers the first five words they ever typed, so why do I remember mine? Because that day, those twenty minutes, was an adventure. Brainstorming my response, scanning the keyboard rows, and finding each successive character was a scavenger hunt. It was a journey, one where I felt discouraged when I saw others typing much faster than me, yet one where I was content with what I accomplished. Even if it was just five words, I put forth my best effort.

Now, 11 years later, although I’m a tad bit taller, I know the keyboard like the back of my hand — or front if we’re being literal — and understand how to use semicolons; the one constant throughout the years has been my desire to give everything I do everything I have. Because for me, every time I put pen to paper, fingers to keyboard, I'm telling a story, whether as emotional as a personal feature or a routine as a preview of an event, I'm chronicling a journey. In the same way, the work that goes into each story is a journey for me — because journalism is my journey. It's a journey where I've been discouraged, scared even, but also one where I've had some of the best experiences and met some of the coolest people in all my life so far. Sure I could go on about my journalistic outlook, mission and principles in an essay, but the truth is that like myself, those are evolving. My senior year has been the most pivotal in my journalistic journey thus far, so instead of just telling you my story, why don't I show you.

From Alumnus to Paris Olympian - September 23, 2024

Northern Illinois Scholastic Press Association Blue Ribbon Award

In the midst of my interview over ZOOM with Olympic Hammer Thrower Erin Reese an end-of-summer storm cut my power out. Although another emailed link and a few apologies got the interview back on track, in retrospect, writing this story was a lot like that storm: chaotic. After sitting through and sorting two-and-a-half hours worth of interviews with Reese and her coach, then going through countless hours of further research on how hammer throw rankings and Olympic qualification works, I was left with a mountain of information to organize and outline, because telling her story isn't as easy as just saying what happened.

I decided to give some background on Reese's high school and college throwing career, then focus on the major moments in her professional career, from getting injured after training in a junkyard during COVID-19, to her 2021 and 2024 Olympic trials, then her unconventional qualification and eventual appearance in Paris. I let my interviewing do most of the work, as Reese's quotes told most of the story, then used my writing to provide context for each event in Reese's life and information on how hammer throwing works.

Although I did similar extensive profiles during my junior year — my most notable being one on a Denver Broncos offensive lineman and one on a Japanese internment camp survivor — the depth of my interviewing and the sheer amount of organization this profile took made it my first real taste of biography-style writing. The girl who went from Mount Prospect to Paris by throwing hammers was the the talk of the town that summer, and I'm proud to have served my community by documenting her story.

Addressing reality of violence - October 25, 2024

Northern Illinois Scholastic Press Association Blue Ribbon Award

Illinois Journalism Education Association First Place Best In-Depth News Story

By October, it was the election that on everybody's minds, with our newspaper deciding to do 5 different election-based stories, such as explaining the electoral college. Myself, I decided to zero in on an election issue that was more local. The school shooting epidemic is a loaded, complex topic, and this story is the quintessential example of localizing a national topic for a high school audience. Our community had a few school shooting threats at the same time we had our first hard lockdown drill of the year. Beginning with a news peg of the hard lockdown drill, I then delved into the history of school shootings, balanced student and teacher opinion on school safety, and addressed school safety policies.

Gladiator II Review: Not just a movie — a holiday lesson - November 28, 2024

Illinois Journalism Education Association First Place Best Review

I know what you're thinking when you read that headline. While this is not the hard-hitting journalism I live to create and have included throughout my portfolio, I added this story because it was my first attempt at a movie review. It's a blog post style column that showcases my voice as a writer, which can sometimes be lost in the rigor of trustworthy journalism. The column takes the reader on a sort of emotional arc where, yes, I actually conclude that "Gladiator II" has a holiday-themed moral.

Disruptive empathy - February 7, 2025

Illinois Journalism Education Association Second Place Best Feature Story

Illinois Journalism Education Association Second Place Best Front Page

It's hard to put into words how much this story changed me. There are so many ways a high school publication can cover the Israeli-Palestinian conflict wrong, and although I looked at the mistakes other publications made, the fear that I could cause hurt was always in the back of my head.

I interviewed seven sources for this story, but only two made it on the page. Some source's beliefs were beyond the scope of my coverage, some dropped out due to safety concerns, and others I felt I couldn't balance the experiences of. After speaking with five Israeli and Palestinian students, I realized that with such an emotionally charged issue like war, it's not the role of high school media to compare and contrast student experiences. With the emotional overstimulation of social media, it's easy to become detached from the effects of war until you are face-to-face with those affected by it.

Instead, I used the news peg of the ceasefire and one of my source's recent experiences to explore how students can healthily discuss historical trauma. I introduced a high school audience to "disruptive empathy," a framework that challenges students to critically engage with other perspectives — even those that could be considered the opposition — and acknowledge the historical wounds that shape them.

Clothesline leaves class, not community - April 14, 2025