Heath Hutcheson, Campus Carrier staff writer
The Georgia Press Association Better Newspaper Contest (GCPA Awards Ceremony) was held last Friday. Berry College’s own Campus Carrier earned 14 awards for journalism excellence at the ceremony, and placed second overall for general excellence in its division.
As for the other categories in the General Awards, the Carrier won first place for Best Campus Community Service in the Features category, first place for Best Campus Service in the Editorial category, first place for Best Website, second place for General Advertising Excellence, second place in Layout and Design Excellence, and third place for Best Campus Community Service in the Sports category.
The Campus Carrier also walked away with multiple individual awards as well. In Group I which included freshmen and sophomores, Alora Landing placed second in Best Feature Photograph for her dance studio photos. Mary Harrison placed third in Best Sports Story for her article “Unique connections keep campus baseball fans invested in Braves.” Rose Wall, Arielle Fischer, and Jose Reyes placed second in Best Entertainment Feature for their piece “WOOD you believe it? Get to know Berry’s notable trees.” Sarah Varnadoe placed second in Best Editorial for her opinion piece “Berry should offer American Sign Language.”
Group II consisted of the juniors and seniors in which, Jose Reyes placed first in Best Review for his review of The Batman. Nolan Scoretz placed first in Best Entertainment Feature for his piece “Duck & Sheep Herding Demonstration”. Sydney Kate Watson placed third in Best Entertainment Story for her piece “Berry freshman plays epic role in worldwide podcast.”
Jose Reyes, winner of two awards, shared what receiving these recognitions meant to him.
“I was very honored to receive that kind of distinction especially since it was the first time I had ever done anything like that,” Reyes said. “As a Digital Storytelling Concentration, this has really solidified my interest in the field and it really brought with it a sense of honor too. It really helped me want to continue to pursue my goals in terms of journalism.”
The award ceremony itself was held in Athens at the Richard B. Russel Special Collections Library at the University of Georgia. Well over a hundred student journalists from across the state attended the ceremony, as well as Katelynn Singleton, the Carrier’s editor-in-chief and Kevin Kleine, the student publications advisor and senior lecturer.
“There was lots of hooting, hollering, and congratulations for everyone when they stepped up to receive their awards, so there was a real air of excitement,” Kleine said. “Being recognized with State Press Association awards in my view, is a reflection of the good work that our student journalists are doing in informing the Berry community about important matters that impact their lives.”
Singleton said it was very rewarding to see the recognition be granted to the recipients.
“I was honestly really proud of all the work that everyone has done throughout the semester and the year,” Singleton said. “This year was off to a little bit of a struggle just because so many people were so new, but I really feel like our efforts were very much recognized. I think everybody has done a really great job.”
Kleine said that the awards should be a motivating factor for high school students who are viewing Berry as an option for their continued education.
“As for incoming juniors and seniors in high school who are considering coming to Berry, when they see that we’ve won these awards, I’ll say, ‘There you go, you should come to Berry,’ ” Kleine said. “Let’s win some more with you. Let’s learn together because you’re going to learn a lot when you come here, and you’ll build a family with the other students that are a part of our student media staff which will lead to other opportunities and networking which will serve you well your entire life.”