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HR Chronicle’s editor-in-chief Taylor Means receives $1500 scholarship

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Taylor Means posing for her senior photos. “My favorite types of stories to write are news stories and breaking news sports,” said Means. Photo courtesy of Taylor Means

     Taylor Means, senior, has recently received a $1500 scholarship based on her work for the school’s newspaper the Chronicle.

   The award that Means applied for is the Dorothy Greer scholarship, available for any Colorado high school senior that has one or more members in the Colorado Student Media Association (CSMA). The first place award receives $3,000 and the second place award receives $1,500.

   Some requirements to enter the contest include having been involved in yearbook, broadcast, video media, and web or print newspaper for a minimum of two years. The adviser must be a JEA member and the person applying must plan on attending a college. The final requirement is that the applicant must have a 3.0 GPA or greater.

   “This was my first time applying to this scholarship. In order to apply, I had to send in a portfolio filled with some of my stories, designs, photographs, etc,” said Means. 

   Means has been on the school’s newspaper staff for three years and became an editor-in-chief. Means’ joined the newspaper because writing has always been her best subject, and she wanted a way for people to read her work. 

   “I wanted to become an editor because I was so in love with newspaper already and the editor-in-chief role is like student journalism on steroids,” said Means. She is one of the three editors-in-chief on the newspaper staff. 

   An editor-in-chief’s job is to make all the final decisions on what the newspaper produces. The editors are legally responsible for any products the newspaper produces. Erin Tuttle is the newspaper adviser and helps in the decision of who the next editor-in-chief will be. 

   “Who becomes editor-in-chief is probably the most difficult but most important decision that I make as an adviser. It is a decision that I make each year with the current editors-in-chief. Given Colorado’s Student Freedom of Expression Law, the editor-in-chief is who decides what is published in our paper. If there was a disagreement between myself and an editor about what to publish, the editor legally gets to make the decision. Therefore, I need to choose someone who I believe is not only a strong leader, a detail-oriented person, and excels as a journalist, but also someone that I can trust explicitly. Taylor fits all of those criteria,” said Tuttle. 

   Means applied for the scholarship earlier this year. “When I won the scholarship I was actually at the gym, running on the treadmill. All of a sudden, I looked down and saw an email with “Dorothy Greer Scholarship” in the subject line. I stopped running to read it and saw that I was runner up. I immediately called my mom and started crying in the middle of the gym. The next person I texted was obviously Mrs. Tuttle, the newspaper teacher,” said Means. 

   Means is attending CSU, Colorado State University next fall. In August, the check with her winnings of $1,500 will be sent to the school.

   Means said, “Throughout high school, I have seen journalism as a possible career for me but never really did much more with it. This scholarship has really made me think though. I was always fairly unsure about my work, but this scholarship gave me more confidence to continue newspaper after high school. So, while I am majoring in sociology at CSU, I am now thinking about also majoring in journalism.”

Jordan Pazos, Staff Reporter

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HR Chronicle’s editor-in-chief Taylor Means receives $1500 scholarship