Malden High School senior named one of New England’s top student journalists

Mack Keating honored by New England Scholastic Press Association, recognized by Malden School Committee

By Steve Freker

“Stop the presses!”

That age-old newspapering term essentially describes what happened recently at the Malden School Committee meeting when the members recognized an exceptional feat of excellence by a Malden High School senior. School Committee Chairperson and Mayor Gary Christenson told his colleagues that a special recognition of MHS senior Mack Keating was planned, put together and then presented – in less than 24 hours!

“We just found out about this extraordinary honor, but we did not wait another day to recognize this accomplishment by Mack Keating,” Mayor Christenson said as a beaming Keating and his parents Daniel and Denise Keating stood in the audience.

The “news” on this night was that Mack Keating has been selected as one of the top student journalists in the five-state region by the New England Scholastic Press Association (NESPA). NESPA made the announcement that Keating was one of the top student journalists in New England on Sunday night, and the mayor made sure that he was front-and-center for recognition by the Malden School Committee under 24 hours later.

NESPA named Keating, one of three editors-in-chief of the MHS student newspaper, The Blue and Gold, to its All-New England High School Journalism staff, which recognizes the top high school journalists working on newspapers, yearbooks, broadcasts or literary magazines throughout the six New England states. NESPA named 17 total high school journalists, including Malden’s Keating, throughout New England to the staff, and will recognize all of them at its spring Conference at Boston University on May 2.

Keating spoke briefly at the recent School Committee meeting after being recognized and said that becoming a part of the Blue and Gold staff “changed my life.” “I met a lot of new people, made some new friends and learned how to write a lot better,” Keating told the School Committee and Malden Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Timothy Sippel at the meeting.

To enter the contest, he submitted a portfolio of his work, a resume of his journalism experience and a reflective essay. To be included on the staff, a panel of judges determined that his portfolio represented excellence in at least one area of journalism.

Malden High longtime English Language Arts educator Ryan Gallagher is the advisor for The Blue and Gold. Students who comprise the staff, like Keating, are part of a full-credit class that produces stories online and also the regular six print issues a year.

Keating told the School Committee he has been accepted for admission to a number of colleges and universities and that his choice is the University of Vermont, where he will matriculate this fall and pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree in the Classics.

“Mack [Keating] is one of our best and most talented students – in so many ways,” said Malden High School Principal Chris Mastrangelo. “We are so happy for him and proud of this prestigious honor as one of the top student journalists in New England.”

“So many of our students have benefitted so much from their affiliation with and commitment to The Blue and Gold student newspaper here at Malden High School, and this is just another tremendous example,” he added.