All of Gables’ publications competed in the statewide journalism competition against hundreds of schools throughout Florida on Apr. 3. The Florida Scholastic Press Association convention acknowledges publications achievements throughout the school year, while continuing to prioritize growth in their programs through networking, competing and learning from professionals in media. Through immense determination and strong creative expression, students who competed in writing, photography and broadcasting managed to accumulate 208 awards.
Before the FSPA Convention, during February and March, students in all of Gables’ publications worked hard on coming up with creative submissions to send to FSPA for evaluation. The board of journalists and professors for FSPA determine the hundreds of winners based on prompts and criteria. At the convention, awards are announced and more competitions are held. Students from publications across Florida compete to win these awards and come together at the convention to collaborate and learn.
“For the Spring Digital contest, we turned in our social show. We had previously done that for the fall FSPA, where we won gold, so we had experience going into this. We wanted to improve on what we had previously turned in, so we added more anchors, improved the graphics and made it longer,” sophomore Gabrielle Solomon said.

Waking up early on Apr. 3, students arrived at Gables to make their way to Orlando. After taking a short break at the Fort Pierce rest stop, students had finally made it to the Renaissance at SeaWorld Hotel. As students got their rooms and began to unpack, they made their way to the main hall full of college advisors. Students were able to interact with these colleges by engaging in conversation, competing in raffles and playing games.
A few hours after meeting some college advisors, students from several schools throughout Florida gathered in the Renaissance’s ballroom to meet the FSPA board. They announced the theme, “On the Bright Side” and some “Best of the Best” winners, in which Christofer Moncada, a member of Catharsis, won for a Computer-Drawn Illustration.

Following the introduction, students received their prompts for the on site competition. Journalists raced to their rooms to get to work as soon as possible to complete their tasks in due time. The halls flooded with broadcasters, interviewers and photographers, while several rooms were occupied by writers. These stressful hours came to an end as students submitted their finished work before deadlines. Publications came together to have dinner, preparing for the educational day ahead of them.
“I was placed on the on-site Yearbook Team competition where it is up to four people to design a yearbook spread depending on the prompt. Being Sports Editor for Cavaleon has really prepared me to show off my design and leadership skills to all of Florida. I was in charge of getting interviews for everyone on the spread, however, it was really stressful because of how long I spent trying to get the best interviews possible,” junior Samantha Gonzalez said.
On the following day, students arose to donuts and orange juice for breakfast before making their way to their study sessions. As students went on with their day, they attended sessions like, “Roundtable: Newspaper” and “Creating Catchy Captions.”
At midday, students took a break to enjoy eating pizza for lunch while talking to their friends. Everyone had two hours of free time before returning to the last two sessions of the day. Once the break ended, students attended study sessions like, “Covering Sports” and “Making the Most of Journalism.”
“I attended the ‘Literary Magazine Circle’ as a way to collaborate with the leaders of other literary magazines and gain insight on how they ran theirs. Other schools were completely different to our publication, which is what I had hoped for. I was able to ask a lot of questions and learn about incorporating new processes and improving our magazine,” junior Lucia Astorga said.
Students prepared themselves for the banquet by dressing in formal attire. After taking group pictures with their publications, they made their way to the banquet. Once everyone in the ballroom had eaten dinner, Joanie Webster, the president of FSPA, announced hundreds of “Best of the Best” and publication awards. Among these awards, every Gables publication won an All-Florida award, while Catharsis and Cavaleon won the Sunshine Standout award.
“The banquet was really well prepared. The food was pretty good and cheering on my friends while they won awards was a great experience. I was also so proud of seeing highlights being recognized as an All-Florida publication and I can’t wait for next year’s FSPA Convention,” junior Milegny Salas said.

After concluding the banquet, students were treated to ice cream following their success in awards. After enjoying a quick treat, students raced to the ballroom for the dance. Singing and dancing to memorable songs, students made the night one to remember. Students danced their hearts out as their time in Orlando was coming to an end.
At 8 a.m. students returned to the ballroom in anticipation for the awards for the on site competitions. Awards included first place in Poetry for Marina Astorga and first place in Feature Writing for Natalia Quick. Student’s left the hotel with smiles on their faces following the awards and finally made their way back to Miami after a journalistic and educational three days in Orlando.
The 2025 FSPA Convention was a chance for Gables students to explore the scope of journalism across Florida, learn new skills from professionals and discover fresh ways to tell impactful stories. It was a celebration of creativity, hard work and journalistic passion. They returned inspired, recognized and ready to elevate their work even further.