It started out as a project for a high school journalism class.

Then it was published in the Lawrence Journal-World’s 18 & Under section. Now, Ben Fitch’s story on the Lawrence hip-hop scene is an award-winning story.

The Kansas Press Assn. recently honored the Free State High School junior for youth coverage. He received honorable mention in the Daily Division 3 category.

The honor stunned Fitch, the only high school student recognized by the Kansas Press Assn.

“This really shows that there’s a lot of great students coming out of the state’s high schools,” said Stephanie Mullholland, member services director at KPA.

Fitch’s story featured a look into the expanding hip-hop scene in Lawrence. This scene is familiar to Fitch, who has been composing music since the seventh grade. He plays in two different bands and started a production company for local underground bands.

Fitch said there were many similarities between writing music and stories.

“When you put news on paper, it’s there forever,” said Fitch, a member of the Free Press, the school’s student newspaper, and the Journal-World’s Teen Advisory Board. “It’s a document of your thoughts. Writing is a magnified way to document human communication.”

Fitch recently was named editor of the Free Press for the 2004-2005 school year. The junior said he had high expectations to live up to, but his next goal was to win the award for journalism student of the year at Free State.

This summer, Fitch will attend a journalism leadership seminar at Kansas University. While he will continue to write music, Fitch has made up his mind on his future.

“I definitely want to go to KU because of the School of Journalism,” Fitch said. “I would like to get into some kind of print journalism.”