Last spring, Religion Team’s VJ Jessie Wardarski set a goal: Do a solo all-formats story about the handful of young women in the U.S. who are still signing up to become Catholic nuns.
The idea came about in late 2023 after Wardarski met a handful of young women who were considering becoming sisters,
Between other assignments, Wardarski took time to form relationships with vocation directors from a handful of religious orders across the U.S. to find a few young women who would be open to sharing the beginnings of this very long. personal journey.
After many weeks of effort, she found three young women, from different parts of the country, all at different stages of their discernment, who would be the main characters in the piece.
She visited with the women, who were spread out across several states, capturing full days of activities and visiting with the family of one young woman, before the project was on hold in the fall as the election approached.
She picked it back up in late November, working with editors David Crary and Holly Meyer, who had guided her through how to structure the text components of the story. Photo editor Patrick Sison crafted two photo edits, which were laid out by Meyer. And with guidance from video manager, Kathy Young, Wardarski edited two videos, each highlighting an individual sister.
The story was published just before Christmas — the team felt it was ideally suited to move near the holiday.
The judges were impressed by the equally high quality of the photos, video and text – and that Wardarski persevered for a year to accomplish her goal.
For singlehandedly crafting a beautifully told all-formats story, Jessie Wardarski wins this week’s 1st Best of the Week Citation.
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