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By Nellie Purdy, Riverside High School

Photo by Cullen McAllister and Lynn Owens, from left to right

According to high school journalist Emmett Flynn, a good adviser is someone who students can trust and talk to.

For two North Carolina high school journalism advisers, the Kay Phillips Distinguished Service Award is an annual award honoring those who have made impactful contributions to scholastic journalism in North Carolina and to the North Carolina Scholastic Media Association. Each recipient must have contributed at least five years of service to scholastic journalism.

And contributed they have — both advisers’ students spoke highly of each efforts to create inclusive environments that reflect the entire student body experience in their publications.

This year’s winners are:

Bryan Christopher

Working on his college newspaper, The Denison, at Denison University, Bryan Christopher discovered his desire for a career in education.

“I was often envious of the impact that some of the students were having on campus and in the local community,” Christopher said. “It made me think about teaching as a way to have that kind of impact and stay involved in some of the content that I enjoyed.”

He’s been the advisor of The Pirates’ Hook since fall 2015 and gives all credit to his students.

“I don’t do anything special,” he said. “The kids come in with some really awesome talents and really valuable perspectives, and I just try to create opportunities for them to learn and grow and do the good work that they’re ready to do.”

“He’s a great advisor,” said Nico Jordan, a junior at Riverside who had Christopher as both an English teacher and as a newspaper adviser. “He lets students do their own thing most of the time, but still helps them along the way.”

His warm disposition is echoed by Emmett Flynn, a fellow junior at the school and a former student from the English 1 class.

“You can talk to him and he’ll actually listen to what you say,” Flynn said.

Christopher is most proud to see the diverse student body of Riverside reflected in the newsroom.

“One of the really cool things about The Pirates’ Hook is that pretty much any given year, I have kids on staff who are applying to elite Ivy League colleges, but I have kids who are working to become the first students in their family to ever go to college,” he said.

Flynn attributes The Pirates’ Hook successes to Christopher’s teaching.

“There’s a reason that our newspaper is as good as it is,” Flynn said.

Jen Chaffman

Jen Chaffman believes her start as an advisor was a happy accident.

Chaffman worked in broadcast news on the radio before joining the Community School of Davidson as an assistant in elementary school.

Fourteen years ago, as CSD added a high school, she was approached to start advising the Spartan Shield yearbook and develop CSD broadcast media due to her background in broadcast news.

Chaffman emphasizes two things as an advisor; She wants to empower kids to tell good stories by teaching them how to do so and to bring together a community.

“The thing that’s most important to me when I’m advising is that kids feel like they have a voice, like what they say matters,” Chaffman said.

Having a voice and being seen can go hand in hand — last year, it was a goal to include a picture of every single student at CSD while involved in their student life in the Spartan Shield yearbook, one that they achieved.

“We work very hard to make it an inclusive K-12 community school book,” she said.

CSD Senior Conner Shelton has been a student journalist in her class for two years.

“I was able to see how much she really cares for everyone and how she wants the absolute best for every student that walks into her room,” Shelton said.

“She really wanted me and others to succeed,” Shelton said. “She wanted to be our support system.”