Harris County senior who co-founded student newspaper now a Page One winner
Harris County High School senior Josie Renner described in her Page One Awards application what motivates her to pursue a career in journalism.
“Words carry immense power,” she wrote. “A simple sentence can change an entire life. I want to use my writing as a voice of change and advocate for a better world so that I can help in transforming the lives of many.”
Josie’s words — and her actions — convinced the judges to select her as the winner of the Ledger-Enquirer’s Page One Award for journalism, the Tucker-Wilder Scholarship, named after three former Ledger or Enquirer editors: W.H. Tucker, W.C. Tucker and Bruce Wilder.
Along with Olivia Peacock, Josie is the co-founder and co-editor of The Renaissance, their school’s online student publication.
In a recommendation, HCHS English teacher Deb Hughes praised Josie’s leadership.
“This newspaper will be Josie’s legacy as she has developed a staff and a concrete plan of how to continue this endeavor long after she has graduated,” Hughes wrote. “… Her passion for the written word will lead her to great things in the world of journalism.”
Josie, 18, told the L-E that The Renaissance was planned in 2019 and established in 2020 to better inform her fellow students about their school, which didn’t have a student newspaper.
“It’s a good way to get the community involved, especially after COVID happened,” she said. “It was a way to connect our virtual students and our in-person students and give people a creative way to express themselves in a student-based, student-led organization.”
The judges were impressed with Josie’s maturity and knowledge.
“She has an elevated view of journalism,” they wrote in her evaluation. “She understands how vital good journalism is and how it impacts our world. It’s not just an activity that she completes at school but rather a lifetime endeavor. Her passion for reporting is clear, and we are excited to see the work she will produce one day as a foreign correspondent.”
Josie plans to major in journalism and possibly minor in international relations at the University of Georgia, where she was accepted into the honors program.
“I have always been drawn to the tragedies of conflict zones and people who suffer all around the world from all these different issues,” she said. “Not enough of them are really displayed in the media to where people can actually make a change to help with it, and that’s kind of what I want to do with journalism.”
Access to clean water and sanitary products in impoverished communities are among the issues Josie wants to investigate.
“I really want to focus on how the civilians are impacted by these conflict zones,” she said. “They’re caught in the middle of a lot of wars and governmental affairs.”
This is the 46th straight year the Page One Awards have celebrated outstanding high school seniors and teachers in the Columbus area. As the most prestigious of the 14 categories, the journalism winner receives $1,500 while the other winners receive $1,000. During the online-only ceremony Tuesday night, the L-E also announced the runners-up, who receive $300.
“I really didn’t expect (to win),” she said. “I was really hoping, of course, but I’m very excited about it because it’s what I want to go into, to be a journalist.”
Josie said she wasn’t disappointed the ceremony couldn’t be in-person, but she was disappointed internet trouble prevented her and her mother from watching the rest of the ceremony in their living room a few seconds after she was announced as the winner of her category.
“The video was put together so nicely,” she said. “We were extremely excited when we saw my name come up as the winner. … We just started laughing when our internet went out.”
In addition to being an award-winning writer, Josie is an AP Scholar, a Georgia Merit Scholar and a member of National Honor Society, National English Honor Society, Beta Club, literary team and cross country team. She works at the Warm Springs Visitors Center and volunteers at the Warm Springs Roosevelt Institute for Rehabilitation.
