April 23, 2022, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Grand Rapids Community College journalism students earned top honors from the Michigan Community College Press Association for writing, illustration and photography skills.
The organization recognizes Michigan student journalists, with entries judged by media professionals. Awards were presented virtually recently by the MCCPA conference host, Central Michigan University’s Department of Journalism.
The Collegiate earned 19 awards, including Best Website for the fourth year in a row.
“These awards show the hard work of every reporter and editor on the Collegiate for the past year,” Editor Kaia Zimmerman said. “We are excited to get recognition for our hard work. This is our fourth year in a row winning best website and we couldn’t have done it without our advisor, Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood, and the hard work she gives to this publication.”
The students last month earned the top award in Division III in the College Better Newspaper Contest, and placed second in the Open Class – Online Newspaper category, finishing behind the University of Michigan’s Michigan Daily.
The Collegiate’s MCCPA awards include:
Anthony Clark Jr. earned first place in the First Amendment Reporting category for “Courageous Conversation: GRPD and GRCCPD leaders discuss community policing,” with an honorable mention to Sean Chase, for “GRCC Board freezes tuition, gives President Pink a raise with approval of $115.4 million budget.”
Clark also earned second place in the Best Column, Serious category for “Being a non-traditional student doesn’t prevent a life of success,” with Angelina Jahn earning third place for “A letter to my Mom”
Alena Visnovsky earned second place in the Best Column, Humor category for “Do Your Research,” and Joseph Poulos earned third place in the Critical Review category fo “Dad’s night out at The French Dispatch”
Clark earned first place in the Sports News Story category for “GRCC Volleyball ends after upsetting loss in NJCAA Great Lakes Finals,” with Zimmerman earning second place for “GRCC announces new softball coach after Brian Skudre resigns”
Zimmerman also earned third place in the Sports Column category for “The world is putting too much pressure on athletes,” and Matt Denhartigh earned an honorable mention for “Grand Rapids Griffins offer strong support system for the Detroit Red Wings”
Visnovsky earned first place for her editorial “Inherent classism continues to impinge community colleges and their students who choose to invest in these low-cost educational options.”
Abby Haywood earned first place for her editorial cartoon “Community College Surprise” and first place in the Original Comic: Entertainment category for “Fact-checking with Aaron Rodgers,” and second place for Best Informational Graphic for “You could win $2 million for getting vaccinated in Michigan.”
Kristen Schetag earned second place for her photo“Vikings even season series as Raiders’ defense struggle” in the Sports News Photo category, with Kennedy Rappleye earned third place for “GRCC Volleyball continues perfect conference record with win over Kellogg CC”
Chase earned third place for Best Multimedia Reporting for “FLOTUS visits GRCC pop up vaccine clinic,” and Aspen Strauss earned first place in the Best Video Production or Online Audio Slide Show Production category for “GRCC students get real about their second pandemic semester.”
"These are some challenging times to be a journalist - especially a student journalist. Many Collegiate reporters are juggling multiple jobs and challenging course loads in addition to their time spent reporting for The Collegiate,” said Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood, The Collegiate adviser. "They work hard and make personal sacrifices to publish regular news content for the GRCC community. Many come to GRCC with limited or no prior journalism experience, and it’s a real privilege to help students develop their skills with the support of everyone on campus who agrees to an interview.”