On October 8th, the Journalism 2 students of Joliet West crowded around the small journalism room. After many weeks, voting had finally ended, and the students were waiting for their teacher, Mrs. Galloy, to deliver the news. Earlier that day, the Journalism students rallied a voting frenzy throughout the school. No classroom with an access to computers was left unbothered up until the final voting hours. As the students stared at their teacher, holding their breath, they saw a smile stretch across her face, and they knew that their hard work had paid off.

School Messenger recently had a contest, “Spread the Word: Back to School Video Contest.” In this contest, contestants were required to create a 30 second video highlighting the benefits of School Messenger. The Joliet West journalism students chose to highlight how technology and communication are ever-changing, and how School Messenger allows staff, parents, and students to keep updated about what’s happening in the school district.

In order to win this contest, a school’s video had to win in either one of two ways: the video either had to get the most number of votes, or School Messenger had to choose it as their favorite. Each winner received $5,000. This money could be used towards needed new technology, scholarships for students receiving a degree in communications, or for the school’s professional development.

Many students promoted the Joliet West video tremendously. Connor Relyea, one of Tiger Tale’s editor-in-chief, was featured on WJOL in order to make the video contest known throughout the community. Other students urged their teachers to have their entire class vote. Others, posted links to their video on their personal Facebook account urging their thousands of “friends” to vote.  Thanks to the help of many people throughout the school and community, the students were able to win by receiving the most number of votes.

In the end, the Joliet West High School Video ran away with the fan favorite, while United Independent School District was chosen by School Messenger. “It’s exciting to win; the publications staff deserve the money to improve their working conditions,” advisor Mrs. Galloy said. The Journalism 2 students would like to thank everyone for their support.