Wauwatosa School District -

Wauwatosa West High School’s student podcast was recognized as one of 18 “Stories of the Year” for the 2025 “Best of SNO,” which highlights the exceptional work being produced by young journalists. The “I MADE THIS” podcast episode was selected from 15,553 submissions from 581 schools.

The Best of SNO platform, hosted by Student Newspapers Online, is renowned for its award and showcase series. It provides students and advisors with the opportunity to submit and learn from exemplary stories. The recent inclusion of Tosa West's student podcast in this prestigious showcase was a delightful surprise for the journalism program advisor and teacher, Christopher Lazarski.

“This was a big win for our program and most importantly, these students,” Lazarski said. “The positive reaction to the story in our own community put a lot of wind behind both the students producing the story AND the students who were the subject of the story. To me, this is absolutely the biggest win on the list. Student journalism amplifies student voice - and that is powerful for student learning, confidence, and success.”

In the Writing for Publication 2 class, 11th-grade students create podcasts focusing on specific topics in two developed formats: "I MADE THIS," where students discuss achievements, and "WHAT'S YOUR THING," which explores student passions. These projects offer a rich learning experience, fostering critical thinking and technical skills, Lazarski said.

“When I think of journalism, the first thing that pops into my head is either an online article or a newspaper, but through this process, I learned that journalism can really be any kind of expression,” podcast co-producer and Wauwatosa West senior Emmersen Weber said. “Through the podcast, we were able to turn these girls' school project into more of a deeper story of the vape epidemic in high schools, and we were able to do so in a less formal way that reaches more of a younger audience.”

Weber created the podcast episode with fellow West students Devin Long and Evelyn Davis. The episode featured a project created for a 10th-grade health class assignment. 

West sophomores Amora Fifer, Honesty Washington, and Izzy Goodlow created an educational rap song, “Put the Vape Down,” advocating against vaping. The group then collaborated with the school Library Media Specialist, Jacob Bowen, to produce the song in the media lab, an effort that left a lasting impression on their teacher, Nathan Chart. In a conversation with podcast host Evelyn Davis, the trio went in-depth about the challenges, successes, and fun times they had with their first time recording a song together in the media room of the Tosa West library.

Weber said she was initially pretty shocked to hear the podcast was recognized at this level.

“I thought it was crazy that our little school podcast that was just supposed to be a new way to report stories, turned into something that caught so many people's attention,” she said. “Our goal of the podcast was to highlight accomplishments within our school and bring awareness to less talked about subjects, it is still insane to believe that this podcast has reached so many people outside of our small community.”

Podcast co-producer Evelyn Davis said the most rewarding part of making the podcast was having a great conversation with three students she didn’t really know before the recording and bringing awareness to an important topic.

Since 2008, the journalism program at Tosa West has been a pillar of educational innovation, teaching students to think critically and produce content for real audiences. Lazarski’s mantra, "journalism skills are thinking skills," is at the heart of the program, encouraging students to engage deeply with their work. Students produce high-quality content throughout the year, demonstrating commitment and creativity. 

This achievement underscores the success of Tosa West’s dual journalism platforms—TWTODAY and The Tosa Compass—both of which are integral to the school’s media education. TWTODAY is a weekly news program that delivers announcements every Friday. Students in the Media Communications class gain hands-on experience by producing short news segments for this show. Meanwhile, The Tosa Compass serves as a comprehensive platform for written, photographic, and social media content. Students in the Writing for Publication course hone their skills in news writing, feature articles, opinion pieces, and photojournalism. This year, the program has been enriched by mentorship from professionals at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

To see the Best of SNO’s top student stories of 2024-2025, including the celebrated podcast from Tosa West, go to bestofsno.com/79820/stories-of-the-year-2024-2025/.