May 4, 2005

MSU award family affair

Sisters Margaret and Emmy Parsons editors of Spartan Award newspapers

By
Herald staff writer

      Margaret Parsons knew her sister, Emmy, was a hard act to follow when she took over as editor-in-chief of Traverse City East Junior High's newspaper, "Told in Black and Gold."
      Emmy, a senior at Traverse City Central High School, had been editor-in-chief of the same paper when she was in ninth-grade and now serves as editor-in-chief of "Black and Gold," the high school newspaper.
      Neither sister should have had any reason to believe that their year as editor would be anything but successful. Both papers were awarded the coveted Spartan Award by the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association and Michigan State University's school of journalism at their annual awards ceremony last month. The newspapers were two of just 26 in the state to receive the award, with East being the only junior high to win.
      "It was really exciting to be able to see the sisters share that accomplishment together," said Jody Mackey, newspaper adviser at Traverse City East Junior High.
      "It was heartfelt since I have worked so closely with both girls. It was really a proud adviser moment," Mackey said.
      The Parsons sisters credit their success in part to their ability to share criticism as well as praise.
      "We look at our papers together and see what we could have done better, it's a two way street," said Emmy, noting that her sister has always been interested in writing.
      "She was always the one on the laptop writing stories, and in her journals, so it wasn't a surprise when she decided to take journalism," said Emmy, who didn't have the same interest in the subject when she started out.
      "I actually didn't want to take journalism but my parents made me. It has turned out to be a really neat opportunity to get experience that you wouldn't get in a typical classroom," said Emmy, who plans to continue studying journalism when she attends Northwestern University in the fall.
      Margaret also plans to continue honing her journalistic skills when she moves up to Central High School next year.
      "I really like seeing my name in print. I love writing things that people want to read, it makes me feel really good," said Margaret, who doesn't mind following in her big sister's footsteps.
      "She (Emmy) really succeeds in basically everything she does. She set an example for me and she has helped me when I need it. I'm really happy it just all ended up the way it did, with the two Spartan awards," Margaret said.
      Emmy shares her sister's sentiment and is proud of the accomplishments of their newspapers and staff.
      "It was really great being able to win the Spartan award as a senior. It's not really about the award but about the progress that we have made as a group," she said. "We have worked so hard to get to the MIPA standards and now we can say that we are there. It was especially nice to be able to do it with Margaret."