The winner of the 2024 Arnetta Garcin Memorial Scholarship and California’s Journalist of the Year is Annabel Chia from Carlmont High School in Belmont. Her adviser is Justin Raisner.

Runners up for the Garcin scholarship are Kalyani Puthenpurayil of Monta Vista High School, Vennessa Nava and Julia Satterthwaite, MJE, advisers, and Aneesh Tiwari of Palo Alto High School, Rod Satterthwaite, MJE, adviser. The top three Northern California portfolios were submitted to the California JOY competition to compete against Southern California entries.

This year’s California JOY and Arnetta Garcin Memorial Scholarship judges were Erin Coggins, MJE JEA Alabama State Director; Lori Oglesbee, 2009 H. L. Hall National Yearbook Adviser of the Year; and Monica Hill, Director, North Carolina Scholastic Media Association.

Garcin winners receive a cash prize of $1,000 for first place, $600 for second place and $400 for third. The state winner advances to the National High School Journalist of the Year competition and will be announced at the Spring JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention in Kansas City in April.

Next year’s portfolios are tentatively due Feb. 1, 2025. Details will be available in early fall 2024.