Press release
April 11, 2012
From: Kansas Associated Collegiate Press
Re: Jackie Engel Award
Jennifer Hanson, business teacher and publications adviser at Satanta High School in Satanta, Kan., was named the 2012 recipient of the Jackie Engel Award, which honors the best of high-school journalism advising in Kansas.
Hanson has been the journalism adviser at Satanta for 12 years. Previously, she worked as a business teacher in Rolla, Kan.; an outreach instructor at Seward County Community College in Liberal, Kan.; a young-adult librarian in Clinton, Ind.; and a newspaper editor in Elkhart, Kan.
Her selection as this year’s top high-school adviser was based on letters from her colleagues, fellow Kansas advisers and her students, who vividly describe her dedication to her students, her passion for teaching and her strong sense of ethics. Despite Satanta’s location in the sparsely populated southwestern region of the state, she has worked tirelessly to ensure that her students participate in both state and national journalism conferences, including one this year in Seattle, Wash.
As one student put it, “Your description of the award states that it honors Jackie Engel, ‘who dedicated much of her academic life to studying, writing and teaching high-school journalism.’ This is a perfect description of Jennifer and her never-ending pursuit of helping her students become successful.”
The Kansas Associated Collegiate Press sponsors the annual award, which is named for the retired media adviser at McPherson High School in McPherson, Kan. On her retirement from McPherson, Engel became executive director of the Kansas Scholastic Press Association, where she worked tirelessly to advance high-school journalism education in the state.
“We believe that excellence in teaching should be recognized,” said Gerard Attoun, who coordinated the contest this year, “which is why we are proud to present this honor to Jennifer Hanson.”
For more information, contact Gerard Attoun, 620-235-4809.
