The Crusader wins 8 national awards on home turf

By Joseph Zuloaga ’23

At this year’s National High School Journalism Convention in San Francisco from April 20-22, The Crusader newspaper, The Shield magazine, and The Grail literary magazine left their mark on a national level amongst a total of 3,350 students from 31 states.

“I was excited to showcase two items that are close to my heart: journalism and San Francisco, and share that with my student journalists and others from across the country,” The Crusader adviser Susan Sutton stated.

“The love for journalism rises from inside one’s heart and is projected through the writer’s voice, which hopefully the convention helped to foster amongst students and advisers,” she added, referring to the convention motto: Leave Your Heart Find Your Voice.

The Crusader won a record eight individual awards–with honorable mentions going to Bryan Santana ’23 for video package editing, Vee Chen ’25 for literary magazine: illustration, Normay Arriola ’24 for newswriting, Angelina Ning ’23 for feature writing, and Sophie Bucker ’24 for editorial writing; excellent awards going to Angela Jia ’25 for press law and ethics, and Ethan Vargas ’23 for sports

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Now, Lin has made history as the first female Editor-in-Chief in the history of The Crusader.

Upon finding out that she had won the position, she expressed her disbelief, stating, “It felt so surreal in the moment, and I am still so incredibly honored to hold the title of Editorin-Chief of such an esteemed newspaper.”

She added, “This is especially meaningful to me as the first female EIC at this school and writing, and a superior award going to Joseph Zuloaga ’23 for news editing/headline/current events.

“I wasn’t expecting to win, [but] I am proud of my accomplishment, which has motivated me to feel more confident in my writing and myself,” Arriola stated.

The Quiz Bowl team of Vargas, Bucker, Zuloaga, and Talia Bumanglag ’24, achieved third place, tying the result from the quiz bowl team at the 2019 Anaheim convention–The Crusader’s best placing ever–and Bumanglag and Bucker made history as the first girls ever on the newspaper quiz bowl team.

“Breaking history as the first girl to be on Riordan’s quiz bowl team is honestly so insane to me. I’ve been involved in a lot of ‘firsts’ at Riordan but I’m super happy and proud to be on the quiz bowl team and even though we ended in 3rd, it’s still a win in my book,” Bumanglag recalled.

Furthermore, The Grail literary magazine won 10th place nationally in the Best of Show competition. Michael VezzaliPascual ’88 spearheaded the revitalization of the lit mag.

The convention–at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square hotel–featured a plethora of publication to hold this position.”

Zuloaga added, “Naomi has been one of the most reliable editors during her time on staff, being tenacious and dedicated. Ms. Sutton and I are confident that she will be a successful Editor-in-Chief.”

Alongside Lin, Talia Bumanglag earned the role of Managing Editor, where she will assist Lin in ensuring that The Crusader maintains its high standards. She also hopes to produce more issues and strives workshops oriented toward many aspects of journalism such as print, broadcast, and photography.

Aiden Pavon ’25 met Joe Shasky III, sports host on 95.7 The Game, and said, “It was cool to meet other journalists [like Shasky] who reached their goals while I am still working toward reaching mine.”

“I like how the convention brings people who are completely invested in journalism together,” Naomi Lin ’24 stated.

Looking back at his four years in journalism, Ethan Vargas ’23 stated, “From helping out with to “create the best and most authentic work we can.”

She stated, “The more organized and overall evolved we become, the more we can write, promote, and create real impactful change.” Additionally, Addison Hwang will succeed Ning as EIC of The Shield. Ning played a vital role in bringing her idea of a school magazine to life during her senior year and was the first EIC. Now, Hwang will be taking the lead as the second EIC of The Shield. She stated, “I hope that I selling newspaper ads down Ocean Ave. to winning an award at the journalism convention, being part of The Crusader will always be something I’ll remember.”

Sutton looks forward to next year’s convention, in Kansas City, hoping for continued success for Riordan’s student publications.

She concluded, “Going into every convention, I always say that I will be over the moon if we win just one award. Having won eight far exceeded my hopes, but then again, these student journalists do that every day.” can improve the recognition of the magazine and encourage more people to become involved.”

Ning concluded, “I hope The Shield grows, flourishes, and wins an award in the future. I want to see how new minds take it and how far we can take it.”

As the 2023-2024 school year begins, Lin, Bumanglag, and Hwang will step into their new roles, representing a new generation of Riordan leaders who will continue to break barriers and shape the future of the school.