The Pearl Post magazine and website were recently announced finalists in five categories in the 64th Los Angeles Press Club’s SoCal Journalism Awards. The awards will be given on June 25 at the Sheraton Universal Hotel.

“I jumped and ran to Ms. Chavira’s room and I was really out of breath,” finalist Delilah Brumer said, recalling when she found out. “I told Ms. Chavira, ‘They announced the awards. We’re finalists!’ Ms. Chavira was confused and I told her to check the website. She checked and we were both really excited. It was awesome!”

The Pearl Post magazine is a finalist for the best high school newspaper for their The Pearl Post: December 2021 issue. The Pearl Post website is a finalist for the best college news website. News magazine Editor-in-Chief Valeria Luquin is a finalist for the best feature photo for her photo “Daniel Pearl World Music Day ‘Reptilia.’” Online Editor-in-Chief Brumer is a finalist for the best news writing campus issue for her story “School bus driver shortage leads to reduction in routes, longer rides.” Also, Managing Editor Gabrielle Lashley along with Brumer are finalists for the best news writing off-campus issues with their story “Acquittal of Daniel Pearl’s murderer sparks outrage.”

“I was extremely excited to see that our hard work, my work and the staff’s is being recognized for that,” said Luquin, who just graduated.

The Pearl Post newspaper has been finalists for best high school newspaper or best news website every year since 2012, with the exception of 2020.

“I think that this is a really big accomplishment,” finalist Lashley said. “Especially with a small staff as we have, I think it’s very validating. With all the work we’ve done this year, it’s paying off. We only had a staff of 16 people, which is insane because other schools have staffs of around 50 people. So the fact that we’re managing to do this with only 16 people is extremely impressive.”