Wait, there’s State for journalism?

Two Oracle staff members will be attending NSAA State Journalism 2026

Olivia Muffler, Editor, Social Media Editor • April 30, 2026

2026 NSAA State Journalism will take place on April 28 at Northeast Community College in Norfolk, NE. This year, the Oracle will be sending two qualifiers: Kayla Wischhof and Finley Paprocki. Wischhof qualified for the Newspaper Layout category (Prelim Only) and Paprocki qualified for the Info Graphic category (Prelim Only). Prelim categories don’t require a live competition so Wischhof and Paprocki will only receive their placement.

Graduated Oracle staff member Louis Hoffman was very successful at state 2025, winning second place in Editorial Cartooning and first place in Headline writing. (Photo by Emily Geldmeier)

The Oracle has sent several students to State Journalism over the past few years including:

2025 – Louis Hoffman

2024 – Hope Shortridge, Ella Herzberg, Louis Hoffman

2023 – Peyton Svehla

2022 – Ava Bartels, Hope Shortridge

Graduated Oracle staff member Louis Hoffman was very successful at state 2025, winning second place in Editorial Cartooning and first place in Headline writing. Many other Lincoln schools are also prominent state qualifiers.

“I went to State twice,” Hoffman said. “The first time I went, I was competing in a design category for an illustration I did that accompanied an article. The second time, I qualified for editorial cartooning and headline writing.”

“I am going to State for a news article I wrote in February,” junior Lily Deitering said, the Co-Editor-In-Chief of the Southeast Clarion newspaper. “I have gone before; I went my freshman year and competed in A&E. I am going to state for a piece I wrote on the ICE walk-out at LSE. I observed the protest, interviewed some students, and published my story a week or two later.”

Nebraska high school publications have the opportunity to submit work released within a certain time frame. Judges then go through the submissions and choose the final contestants to attend state.

This is Finley Paprocki’s infographic that qualified for State. (Photo by Finley Paprocki)

“I had no idea what state journalism was before I went,” said Hoffman. “Honestly, until I showed up I thought it was kind of a funny thing to have a competition for.”

Although it usually flies under the radar, attending or even placing at State Journalism is an outstanding accomplishment that should be celebrated and recognized.

“State is a super fun experience,” Deitering said. “It’s really cool to be around so many young, talented journalists. Competing at state can be nerve wracking, but overall it’s a really great learning opportunity.”

“I’d never won anything like that before, nor was I very confident in my creative abilities so it was a very encouraging experience for me,” Hoffman said.

Now that you know what State Journalism is, and the positive impact it leaves on students, go and show support to our East newspaper and yearbook students participating!

About the Contributors

Olivia Muffler, Editor, Social Media Editor

Olivia Muffler is a junior at Lincoln East High School. “My favorite thing about The Oracle is the community and how fun it is to collaborate with people who have the same goals and creativity as you,” Muffler said. She is the Social Media Editor for The Oracle, and also a normal editor. She is also involved with Key Club and Youth Revival. Outside of school, Olivia is a hostess at Cheddar’s, and she is involved with her church and youth group. Olivia’s favorite hobbies are watching movies, reading, and listening to music, especially when it comes to The Hunger Games!

Emily Geldmeier, Advisor

Emily Geldmeier has been a teacher at Lincoln East High School for 10 years and has been representing the school newspaper, The Oracle, for 5 years now. Geldmeier prioritizes building relationships with her students through her years of teaching. It’s an important factor in teaching knowing that she has a wide variety of students, she finds it important to create security and knowing who her students are. “If I can be secure, then I can stand firm or stable and allow kids to have bad days or off days,” Geldmeier said. Outside of The Oracle and her teaching career, Geldmeier is proud of her family. She has four daughters and a husband who she loves spending her quality time with. Her relationships have shown Geldmeier that her connections go beyond her students and family, knowing that she has support and love from all aspects of life. Geldmeier has always found the subject, English, fascinating. Reading and analyzing books have been a part of her life for such a long time and she continues that passion for English here at Lincoln East High School.

Finley Paprocki, Staff Writer

Finley Paprocki is a sophomore at Lincoln East and is looking forward to her first year on The Oracle staff. Besides The Oracle, Paprocki is involved in cross country, Key Club, speech, and track at East. Outside of school she loves to crochet, hang out with friends, watch movies, listen to music, and dissect animals, because she is an avid science fan. Along with science she also loves English and writing, which is why she’s super thrilled for The Oracle! She’s also excited to interact with all sorts of people and make new connections at school. “I can’t wait to meet new people,” Paprocki said. Besides school, she also has two siblings who are in college and two adorable dogs. Paprocki can’t wait for this year and is looking forward to being an excellent staff writer!