Joanna Banegas, a freshman in the transition program, and  Alanna Howard, a freshman in English, have been named as the 2009-2010 recipients of the Technician grant, a $1,000 grant renewable for up to four years given to incoming students on the newspaper staff.

Banegas, a graduate of Wake Forest-Rolesville High School, worked on the student newspaper, the Forest Fire, a paper consistently ranked as one of the top in the state by the North Carolina Scholastic Media Association.

Her high school Spanish teacher, Ersilia Filauro, said, “Joanna is passionate about being a part of the school’s newspaper. She feels that the school newspaper is an important vehicle from which she and the newspaper team are able to convey important issues from both the school and the community to its readers.”

Howard, during high school, worked as a feature writer and columnist for the Fuquay Independent where she created her own column, “Kid to Kid.”

Janet Kangas, editor of the Fuquay Independent, said, “She is an excellent writer and photographer and has grown as a reporter as she has completed a variety of assignments covering a broad range of topics. She is creative and willing to try new things.”

These two join five other current staff members renewing their grants. To maintain their grant, recipients not only have to maintain rigorous and high academic standards, they have to show continual advancement on the staff.

• Lauren Blakely, junior in textile technology
• Tyler Everett, sophomore in First Year College
• Saja Hindi, senior in English, language, writing & rhetoric
• David Mabe, sophomore in computer engineering
• Luis Zapata, a junior in industrial design