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KSPA joins Kansas Collegiate Media (KCM) in congratulating the 2019 Jackie Engel Award winner, a journalism adviser at Blue Valley High School.

Michelle Huss is this year’s recipient of the award, sponsored by KCM and named in honor of a former journalism teacher at McPherson High School. Engel helped bring national recognition to Kansas high school journalism and was the first recipient of the award in 1990. She died in 2005, but her legacy of excellence lives on in this award.

The award was created to honor the best high school journalism teacher in Kansas. Huss received a plaque and cash award at the KCM Awards Conference in Wichita on April 8. She will also be honored later at the KSPA State contest on May 4 in Lawrence.

Huss has advised student publications for 13 years. She also judges yearbooks for various organizations and teaches desktop publishing classes. One of the big duties she has taken on is coordinating contests for the Journalism Educators of Metropolitan Kansas City, where she serves as an officer. According to another area adviser, she spends hours organizing every detail of the 30 plus contests for that organization.

She is known for working with other teachers to improve curriculum and to brainstorm teaching and advising strategies. She has continued taking classes and working to better her own teaching and advising.

Huss earned a B.S. in secondary education from Kansas State and an M.S. from Emporia State in Business Education. She started her career as a journalism and business teacher at Ottawa High School.

KSPA sends our congratulations to Michelle Huss for her accomplishments and we look forward to presenting the Jackie Engel award to her on May 4 at our state contest.