Kelsey Sweet, a senior at Londonderry High School, won the Brodsky Prize last year. Courtesy photo/Lancer Spirit Online

MANCHESTER – The Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications recently announced that applications are currently being accepted for the $5,000 Brodsky Prize.

It is awarded annually to honor New Hampshire high school students who demonstrate exceptional journalistic initiative, innovation and independent thinking.

Applications are open to students attending New Hampshire public, charter or parochial high schools, including students who live in neighboring states but attend a New Hampshire school.

The prize honors the legacy of Jeffrey Brodsky, who began his journalism career at Manchester Central High School, and encourages students to pursue bold, thoughtful reporting.

Kelsey Sweet, currently a senior at Londonderry High School, was last year’s recipient. Kaylee Mague, also a senior at Londonderry High, was the winner in 2024 and became the first sophomore to receive the award. Other prior winners include Samuel Marcotte, now a graduate of Coe-Brown Northwood Academy, Aiden Barker, a graduate of Hollis-Brookline High School and Siera Biddle, a graduate of Souhegan High School.

The application deadline is April 24. Questions can be sent to loebschool@loebschool.org.

The Brodsky Prize was established in 2018 by father and son, Howard and Jeffrey Brodsky. Their vision for the prize was to foster “boldness and innovation” among student journalists. During the 1990s, Jeffrey served as co-editor of his high school newspaper, The Little Green, at Manchester Central High School.

Jeffrey then went on to earn his Bachelor’s degree in political science from Washington University. He was also one of 12 students to be selected for the Oral History Master’s degree program at Columbia University. After graduating from Columbia, Jeffrey quickly established himself as an accomplished journalist and oral historian. His work has appeared in The Boston Globe, The Los Angeles Times, the Associated Press, USA Today, Bloomberg News and The Wall Street Journal.

Tragically, Jeffrey died of Parkinson’s disease in July 2023 at the age of 49.

During the past eight years, the Brodsky Prize has awarded more than $70,000 to high school journalists.