On April 2, 2024, Brandon High School sent representatives from the Brandon Bulldog Media Group to The University of Mississippi in Oxford for the 2024 Mississippi Scholastic Press Association State Convention. The Brandon Bulldog Media Group was formed at the beginning of this academic school year, and it consists of Brandon High School’s News Team, Sports Media, Yearbook, and Print Journalism students. Brandon was one of many schools at the conference that day, including Madison Central, Oxford High School, St. Joseph’s Catholic School, and more! At the convention, students attended three workshops of their choosing. These workshops included tips and tricks to help our future journalists in all aspects of their high school careers. As excited as the students were for the workshops, the real thrill of the day came in the afternoon during the awards session! Students in Sports Media, News Team, and Print Journalism submitted their work to be adjudicated in February. While the Sports Media and News Team have competed at this conference before, it was the first time the Print Journalism students had submitted their work for awards! However, this is not the first time the Brandon Bulldog Media Group students competed this school year. In September, Brandon’s Yearbook and Print Journalism students submitted their work to be judged. Print Journalism students won several awards, including the Best In Show Award for their August publication of The PawPrint. With their previous wins in their minds, nerves were high for this awards ceremony. All the schools at that day’s conference gathered in the Ford Center. The awards session started with a keynote address given by Mississippi Today’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Anna Wolfe. Wolfe gave a captivating speech recapping her work as an investigative reporter on former governor Phil Bryant’s involvement in the misuse and misappropriation of Mississippi’s welfare grants. After her speech, the Mississippi Scholastic Press Association announced this year’s All-Mississippi Student Journalists Cohort. Brandon High School’s senior, Lulu Edmondson, earned a spot on the cohort based on her hard work and dedication to journalism in her four years at BHS. Then, MSPA began publishing awards. Each category had several finalists and an overall winner. Each category was highly competitive, with some categories having over 100 entries. Brandon High School had six finalists and one overall winner. The Finalist included Best Sports Story from Matthew Parker (Broadcast), Best Hype Video from Keygan Ammons (Sports Media), Best Feature Photo from Carsen Flowers (Print), Best Sports Photo from Ava Tillery (Sports Media), Best Sports Infographic from Lulu Edmondson (Broadcast/Sports Media), and Best Opinion Writing from The PawPrint (Print). Our win was from Lulu Edmondson (Broadcast/Sports Media) with the Best Sports Infographic. While the student awards captivated attention, MSPA also had some advisor awards. Brandon High School’s Mrs. Hope Elkins received a finalist award for Newspaper Adviser of the Year. Brandon High School is so proud of all that the Brandon Bulldog Media Group has accomplished this year, and we can’t wait to see what they do next!