When Powell High School junior Nalani Jordan won first place for 3A/4A photography at the state journalism competition on Oct. 28 in Casper, it was a nice cherry on top for Powell High School’s student newspaper. The Prowl placed first in the state for the third consecutive year.

Jordan is in her second year as a member of The Prowl. She originally joined to fill a hole in her schedule but has since grown to like journalism, and over time she also found a knack for photography.

“I think I have to be really into a story for it to be good writing. If I don’t have a personal connection, or I haven’t talked to people beforehand, it’s hard for me to start writing a story and [put] it out there in a way that other people can feel what I’m [I’m writing],” she said. 

She likes photography because she can pause a moment and use it to tell a story.

“It’s kind of taking somebody’s personal memory, and being able to show that to other people and really portray a good story,” Jordan said. 

She submitted five photos in her portfolio with the subjects ranging from creepy clowns in a haunted house to high flying pole vaulters. She likes to make sure her photos are well lit with clean backgrounds, she said. 

Jordan isn’t the only student hard at work. The Prowl stuff has put in the work to earn their state streak from updating the website and meeting standards to producing content— it’s been a class effort to nab The Prowl’s third state title.

“I’m really happy that we won. I was a little bit nervous, I’m not gonna lie,” Editor in Chief Caitlin Belmont said. “I didn’t know if me and [Katie Morrison, the associate editor’s] work … so far had been enough to push us to get that first place, but I’m really glad that we did. I think that was the best outcome, obviously. I think everybody in the class really helped with motivation and pushing us to our goals.”

Of course it was nice to win the state title for the third time, Morrison said. She was a little worried at first that they had gotten overconfident.

“I was a little scared,” she said. “We have to put the work in, we’re not just going to get this, and so I knew that we had to do the work.”

Consistent content that connects with their readers is what differentiates The Prowl from other papers in the state, Morrison and Belmont said, acknowledging an administration who pushes them and agrees to be part of The Prowl’s stories.

“This is something that they keep with it, these skills go with them post high school. It's like a relay race,” said Amy Moore, The Prowl’s adviser. “They're passing the baton of their skills down to the next set of students, and it's carried on. I do final editing, but they run the show.”