Alicia Cannon
The Collegian staff will attend the SCPA awards in person this year for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Photo: Alicia Cannon
Members of the paper’s staff will receive 10 awards during the South Carolina Press Association’s 2021 Collegiate News Contest on Friday.
“These awards recognize the hundreds of hours staffers have invested in the paper this year,” said Betty Solomon, faculty adviser for The Collegian. “I’m especially proud to receive these accolades as we celebrate The Collegian’s 35 years of award-winning journalism.”
Competing against other South Carolina colleges and universities in the Collegiate Under 5,000 division, BJU students won the following awards:
Four first place awards
Arianna Rayder—First place, Specialty Page Design
Johnathon Smith—First place, Feature Story
Andrew Thompson—First place, News Story; First place, Arts and Entertainment Story
One second place award
Melia Covington—Second place, Photograph
Four third place awards
Nathaniel Hendry—Third place, Photograph
Cat Reynolds and Jewel Schuurmans—Third place, Sports Story
Lindsay Shaleen—Third place, Sports Photograph
Olivia Thomas—Third place, Column or Editorial Writing
Additionally, The Collegian won third place in the General Excellence category, which recognizes the staff’s overall achievements throughout the December 2020 through November 2021 judging period.
Eight members of the paper’s staff will travel to Columbia Friday to represent The Collegian and BJU at the first in-person SCPA meeting since the pandemic began. Staff members will attend journalism workshops, networking events and an awards ceremony.
Smith, the editor-in-chief of The Collegian, received an award for a profile he wrote about Young Jin Ghun, a BJU student. “I’m looking forward to the networking opportunities at the SCPA awards,” he said. “I’m also hoping that more people will read Young’s uplifting redemption story because of this award.”
Thomas, a former writer and social media videographer for the paper, won an award for her column about her cross-cultural adoption. “I think it’s important to have a multicultural perspective in news, and I was pleased to have the opportunity to write about a topic like adoption from my own unique experience,” she said.