Omega print editor-in-chief, senior Abigail Murphy was named the Illinois Journalism Education Association Journalist of the Year on Wednesday, March 1.

The Journalist on the Year award requires the applicant to have an extensive online portfolio that showcases a variety of skills, including copy editing, layout, writing, and photojournalism.

“The competition was creating an online portfolio that professional journalists use,” Murphy said. “I found out about the contest in May of last year when I won a spot on the [2016] all-state journalism team and I started working on at the end of last summer.”

Journalism teacher Elizabeth Levin has supported Murphy throughout her years on staff and spoke on behalf of Murphy during her application.

“Abigail is an unusually principled, talented, and hardworking student. These qualities have helped make her one of the most highly valued editors in the history of our newspaper,” Levin said. “Her love of learning and her commitment to excellence make her an exceptional candidate for the Journalist of the Year award.”

Murphy joined a the Omega staff her sophomore year, spending her first year as a feature editor and the following two years as editor-in-chief.

“Journalism has been the place where I found a career where I can do all the things I love, which are writing and doing investigative research. I really like hearing people’s stories and I like the idea of being able to share those stories.”

Murphy is the first D99 winner of the IJEA Journalist of the Year and her portfolio will be entered into the national competition on April 9.

“It really verifies all of the hard work I have put in these last three years, I have spent a lot of really late nights and really early mornings here working on the newspaper and it’s just really nice to see that all of those hours of work have paid off,” Murphy said.