Two BV West alums made history for journalists in the print publications department by being named finalists in the National Scholastic Press Association’s Photo of the Year. Alisha Forsythe and Ashley Oades had photos chosen as finalists in Feature Photo and News Photo respectively.

Forsythe, now at the University of Kansas, shot her award-winning photo at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson in Sept. of 2014. She and several students from the newspaper staff were attending the fair to compete in the Scholastic Press newspaper contest. The group went to the fair the night before the contest and found a high school student running the camel ride booth. They enjoyed the young man’s relationship with his camel and Forsythe decided to take his picture.

Forsythe had won a few awards during her high school stint as a publication’s photographer but was thrilled to have her photo chosen out of thousands for the award.

“Woah! That’s crazy,” Forsythe said.

Oades, studying at Kansas State University, found herself on the receiving end of several awards throughout her career as a yearbook photographer and was even one of the photo editors her senior year. Her photo was taken at a very dramatic moment in the history of BV West.

Lt. Justin Sisson is the only Blue Valley school district alum to have lost his life in the line of battle in August of 2013. The school honored Sisson and his family as a part of the Veteran’s Day Assembly in 2013. A group led by teacher Cheryl Kerns raised enough money to erect a statue in remembrance of Sisson over the next year. The dedication was on a cold, November day in 2014. Oades captured the moment when Sisson’s mother saw the statue for the first time.

“Oh my gosh; this is the coolest thing ever,” Oades said. “This is so unbelievable, I’m honored that they chose my photo.”

The NSPA selecting two photos from one Blue Valley school has never happened before in the history of the district. Four other nominees join Forsythe and Oades to set a record for the most nominees. Awards will be given in November at the NSPA National Convention in Orlando.

Check out the competition: http://studentpressblogs.org/nspa/2015-picture-of-the-year-finalists/