ADVISER
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Phillip Caston- Hometown: Spartanburg, S.C.
- Years Advising: 18 - Scholastic Press Positions: Past Chair, Southern Interscholastic Press Association; Lowcountry Rep, SC Scholastic Press Association; Scholastic Journalism Week Committee, Journalism Education Association - Honors: 2020 National Distinguished Yearbook Adviser, 2012 South Carolina Adviser of the Year, 2012 Joseph W. Shoquist Freedom of the Press Award, 1997 SC Scholastic Journalist of the Year - Education: B.A. English, Clemson University, M.A. Journalism, University of Maryland - Interests: Creative Writing, Dogs, Cooking BBQ, Ghost Hunting, Visiting the Beach, Clemson Athletics - Biography: Following graduate school at Maryland, Caston joined the Charleston Post & Courier where he covered cops, Berkeley County government, and military affairs. After two and a half years, Caston decided to pursue a teaching career and began his classroom tenure at J.L. Mann High School in Greenville, SC. There he advised the student newspaper, Mannuscript, and the yearbook, Talismann. Mannuscript won six Palmetto Awards under Caston's advisement and was named the Best Newspaper in South Carolina in 2013. SIPA named Talismann the Best Yearbook in South Carolina in 2012 and 2013, and the Best Yearbook in the Southeast in 2013. His 2011-12 newspaper staff won the Joseph W. Shoquist Freedom of the Press Award following its successful battle against administrative censorship in covering a charity fund controversy at J.L. Mann. Caston joined the Wando High School staff in 2013 to take the helm of Legend. Since then, the staff of Legend has nearly tripled in size and increased its take home of individual staff awards, including 43 total awards (19 First Place) at the 2021 SIPA Conference. Under Caston, Wando yearbook has been named Best Yearbook in SC twice by SIPA and Best Yearbook in SC four times by SCSPA, including three years in a row from 2021-23. It received the Scroggins Award as the Best Yearbook in the South in 2020. Caston's yearbook students also won a Hermes International Platinum Award alongside Fortune 500 companies in 2016 for a project created for the Town of Mount Pleasant. Legend was named a Pacemaker finalist for the first time in 2021 under Caston's advisement. The Journalism Education Association named Caston a Distinguished Yearbook Adviser in 2020. He is the JEA South Carolina director. In addition to yearbook, Caston advises the Tribal Tribune newspaper and teaches Intro to Journalism. Caston has produced eight SC Scholastic Journalists of the Year--more than any adviser in state history: Ashley Brown (2009) and Coralia Balasca (2012) at J.L. Mann, and Sophie Winnick (2017) , Greyson Webb (2019), Olivia Potter (2021), Millie Rice (2022), Nicole Breen (2023), and Morgan Cook (2024) at Wando. |