As part of the KEMPA fall conference, two advisers of student publications received awards during the annual meeting.
Madelynn Soberano, 2024 Nancy Becker Newspaper Adviser of the Year
The following remarks were given by April Van Buren, KEMPA Board President.
Her former high school English teacher and now colleague, Sam Worden, wrote this about Ms. Soberano, “Madelynn Soberano was a freshman in my very first English 1 class back in the fall of 2012; she liked my class so much that she transferred to Honors English 1 for semester 2, and she has been killing it ever since. Madelynn had big shoes to fill when she took over the journalism responsibilities, and she made the transition seamlessly despite some significant COVID-based challenges being hurled at her. She works so hard (seriously, Maddie seems like she never goes home), her kids love her, and the Tom Tom continues to be amazing-she’s wonderful.“
Madelynn started teaching when COVID and Civil Unrest were ripe in our country. In August of 2020, Antioch teen Kyle Rittenhouse shot and killed two men and wounded another during riots and protests in Kenosha, WI over the shooting of Jacob Blake. Let me repeat that – TWO WEEKS into her FIRST TEACHING job, she was faced with how to advise young journalists.
She recounts: My editor-in-chief was the first to contact me, jumping on the opportunity to gather the information on this first draft of history. Still, I was doubting myself and my ability to handle this story that I found too close to home. I regret that my initial reaction was to tell my EIC to wait as I asked for permission; it was my time to support and believe in my students the way my adviser did for me, and I feel I may have let them down.
The answer I got from my former administration was that we shouldn’t comment on the controversial issues that continued to arise throughout the semester and that our job as educators was not political. I was personally reminded that I was in charge of a “student” media program and not to forget that it was merely a student newspaper and not to take it too seriously. Right then and there, the fire inside me relit. At that moment, I began to refocus and dedicate myself to advocating for student voices and their ability to tackle important events, even if controversial.
Since then, I have made it my mission to continue to support and encourage student journalists by providing them with opportunities to see the world beyond our hometown. Last fall, my staff and I attended the JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention in Boston, where The Boston Globe’s Spotlight team was the keynote speaker. This same year, students chose to look a bit closer and write about the topics affecting our town, one being the fentanyl crisis in Lake County and its impact on our school and community.
It is this passion for student speech that her principal Dr, Michael Berrie, applauded most in his recommendation letter to KEMPA. He shared, “As the principal, I have a unique relationship with our journalism classes. I enjoy that they let me know when an article might ruffle a few feathers and when I might be getting some phone calls from concerned parents about articles that have been written. As a former social studies teacher, I value that Maddie encourages students to write articles that promote critical thinking on the reader’s part. Over the course of the past two years, we have seen articles detailing the deadly impact of the fentanyl crisis in our community, the opening of a cannabis dispensary in town, the lived experience of a pregnant student, and the story of a controversial book in our library that made local headlines.”
He added that “ to see her teach, it appears as though Maddie has been refining her craft for quite some time when, in reality, she has just been an educator for a few short years: that is how effortless she makes it look. Her strength lies within her ability to engage students. Students enjoy the class because it looks and feels like a real-life newsroom that we would see in the movies. Teams of students actively collaborate to produce video interviews or articles for the newspaper while trying to meet a deadline, producing a “buzz” within her classroom and defining the student experience. She has inspired many to follow her path and study journalism in college.”
This is not Madelynn’s first recognition of her efforts and talent. The Illinois State Board of Education awarded Ms. Soberano the Those Who Excel Award of Excellence in the Early Educator category in 2023, placing her among the “best of the best” in Illinois. She also received this distinction from the Lake County Regional Office of Education at their Educator of the Year Awards. Additionally, she won an award from her district that is voted on by staff and community members, honoring her contributions in her school and wider community.
Just last year, under her advisement, the Tom Tom received second-place KEMPA recognition in the newspaper category, and Sequoit Media was named All KEMPA in the online category. The National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) also named Sequoit Media as one of the 26 national finalists for the Pacemaker Award.
Beyond all this, Madelynn herself has reaffirmed the value of journalism for her students, her school and the wider world, stating “My job is to shape the future guardians of democracy and help them find their voice before being confronted by the stream of fake news, advertisements, and propaganda that is often disguised as credible journalism. As I enter my fifth year of teaching and as we approach election day, it is essential for me to stay committed to education and support scholastic journalism at a time when it is needed most.”
Madelynn, it is my honor to congratulate you on being awarded KEMPA’s Nancy Becker Newspaper Adviser of the Year.
Beth Marshall, 2024 Jan Kohls Yearbook Adviser of the Year
The following remarks were given by April Van Buren, KEMPA Board President.
Full disclosure, I wrote one of the letters of recommendation for Beth for this award and am thrilled to share more about her with you all today.
Her colleague Eileen Stecker, who has known Beth for nearly 25 years, called Beth “an inspiration to her students.” She pointed to her support of student free speech, with an example from 2020, when some members of her small, rural community called for Beth’s removal or discipline for allowing her students to publish a spread on the Black Lives Matter protests as part of a review of that year. Nevermind that Illinois has New Voices legislation in place, protecting student publication from administrative censorship. There is no equal protection for advisers, unfortunately. A few vocal, angry community members went on the attack, attending board meetings and criticizing her decision.
Stecker recalled that “She gracefully handled these remarks and reminded administration and the community that the yearbook is made by students for students, and that neither she nor her students had done anything worthy of this criticism, no matter their opinion of the BLM Movement.”
Personally, I had many conversations with Beth during this time and watching how she managed what would be incredibly stressful for any adviser with calm and aplomb was impressive to say the least. Her focus was not on her own career or struggles, but on educating her students and making sure they had the tools and resources to continue being successful journalists in their community.
A former student of Beth’s, Anna Smith, who is currently studying journalism at UW-Madison, also wrote on her experiences with Beth during that time of controversy. “Mrs. Marshall increased my class’s awareness of how student journalists are protected under the First Amendment right and ensured us that we still had the power to decide our coverage. Mrs. Marshal was a powerful advocate for our freedom of expression.
She encourages students to engage in their passions despite controversy. It was due to her devotion to our education that I understood my responsibility and rights as I furthered my pursuit in the field. The knowledge and confidence that Mrs. Marshall instilled in me helped cement my decision to continue along the path of journalism.”
It isn’t just that Beth weathered the storm of controversy so well. She is also incredibly hard working and passionate about scholastic journalism. After teaching English for 25 years, Beth agreed to take on the yearbook program with little to no training in journalism or yearbook. She recognized the importance of doing “good journalism” and enrolled in Kent State’s impressive Masters in Journalism Education program. In the process of her education, she developed a scope and sequence and many instructional materials which she has shared with me and many others, and which showcase her learned expertise in the field and her willingness to share and support others in our field.
I first met Beth about 10 years ago when we were both on the KEMPA Board. Later, when I was tagged to serve as Board President, Beth agreed to observe as Board secretary and then take over for me when my term ended, which she did. In fact, she served an extra year as President (the “COVID year” clause), and is back serving as Board secretary now. In addition to working with her on the KEMPA Board, Beth has also taught with me for the Washington Journalism and Media Conference at George Mason University for the past three summers. Beth is warm-hearted and serves her students well. She embodies the spirit of journalism, including in her initial foray into student journalism.
Her program has won many awards under her supervision. Recently, the 2023 yearbook earned the first place overall yearbook award from the Illinois Journalism Educator Association (IJEA), was named All-KEMPA by the Kettle Moraine Press Association, and received other awards too numerous to list including first place finishes in copywriting, layout and design, sports coverage, and theme development. Truly, the awards and accolades for the yearbook have been both extraordinary and consistent for the last decade under her guidance.
Stecker shared that “Her resume reads as a complete checklist for every suggested requirement for this award, although the nomination form notes that it would be “unlikely for someone to have done them all.” However, I can assure you that Beth Marshall has. As she nears retirement, her colleagues and students recognize how blessed we have been to work with her, and while we wish her the best, we worry she is simply an irreplaceable yearbook adviser.”
Beth, it is my honor to congratulate you on being awarded KEMPA’s Jan Kohls Yearbook Adviser of the Year.
