Student journalists working for Texas A&M Student Media won 29 awards and earned 16 honorable mentions in three nationwide contests over the past two weeks, a jump from last year’s count that saw Aggies face the toughest collegiate competition in the U.S.
Students won 11 first-place awards, with 29 Aggies from the three publications — The Battalion, Maroon Life Magazine and The Aggieland yearbook — ultimately taking home a win or honorable mention bestowed by the Associated Collegiate Press’s Individual Awards, the College Media Association’s Pinnacle Awards and the College Media Business Association Managers competition. In addition, the student-led business department also earned several honors.
“All you really ask for is growth and getting better with each issue or each year,” Spencer O’Daniel, associate director of student media, said. “When you look at our winners from last year, and you notice in certain contests such as the business one, CMBAM, or ACP, when you double or triple the number of total awards you’re getting, I think that shows you’re moving the needle in the right direction.”
The Battalion saw 25 accolades, including first-place wins for best special section cover and best web sports section alongside various writing successes, such as English senior Charis Adkins’ ACP Individual and CMA Pinnacle Awards wins. Her column, “A blatant disregard of tradition,” won 5th and 2nd place, respectively.
After learning of a committee’s attempt to revive Student Bonfire on campus — bringing it under university oversight to be built by a construction company rather than students — Adkins, a Bonfire member herself, pitched the article as a staff writer earlier this year.
“I wrote it because the plan had just come out, and I was upset about it because I like the tradition as it is,” Adkins said. “I didn’t think it should be subsumed.”
Two months later, President Mark Welsh III announced the committee had ultimately decided against the proposal. Now an editor, Adkins said the experience showed her the impact opinion articles can have, a lesson she now teaches the writers under her.
“I think it’s one of the first ones I’ve written that has gotten traction and has actually made a difference, which is really, really cool,” Adkins said.
The surge in awards coincides with the Maroon Life Magazine’s rebrand this year, officially moving from a 10-by-10 square magazine to a traditional 9-by-10.875 rectangle magazine under its new five-member leadership team. The change pushes the publication in a more independent direction after multiple semesters of control under one individual — a special sections editor housed through The Battalion editorial style.
Multidisciplinary engineering technology junior Pranay Dhoopar won two awards for his work on the magazine, a first-place win for best sports page or spread and a second-place win for best cover. Journalism junior Chris Swann won second place for best entertainment page or spread.
Journalism senior Zoe May, Maroon Life Magazine’s current editor in chief, said she is proud that her team has the opportunity to build on the foundation these awards set. The publication’s second magazine of the semester, which focuses on local culture and lifestyle, was released last month.
“I’m just really excited to take the platform that they created for us to continue to build it up and become bigger and bigger, so that we are competing with the best of the best in the country on a consistent basis,” May said.
The Aggieland yearbook also saw a growth in awards to match its similarly rejuvenated staff, a group of seven editors led by journalism senior Cara Hudson. The yearbook has increased its staff size from one student to around 15 contributors in one calendar year.
With multiple high-level accolades — including a first-place win in best yearbook division page or spread and multiple business and social media awards won by industrial engineering senior Julius Sjolie — A&M’s student-run yearbook is cementing itself among the best nationwide, biology sophomore Rachel Reyes, the Aggieland’s assistant editor in chief, said.
With over 400 pages of stories, designs and work in the 2024 yearbook, Reyes said there was one vital element leading to the recent success: dedication.
“We’re in a good spot to continue growing as a publication, and hopefully we can win more awards in the future,” Reyes said.
2024 CMBAM Winners
1st Place— Best Paid Design Product, Non-Self Promotional — Pranay Dhoopar
1st Place— Best Digital Display Ad: Animated — Julius Sjolie
1st Place — Best Digital Self Promotion Ad — Julius Sjolie
1st Place — Best Social Media Promotion — Julius Sjolie
2nd Place — Best Digital Display Ad: Animated — Julius Sjolie
Honorable Mention — Best Sponsored Content or Native Advertising — Cara Hudson, Chris Swann
2024 ACP Individual Awards
1st Place — In-Depth News Story — Nicholas Gutteridge
2nd Place — Four-year School Reporter of the Year Finalist — Nicholas Gutteridge
2nd Place — Sports Feature Photo — Kyle Heise
4th Place — Feature Story — Nicholas Gutteridge
4th Place — Yearbook Page/Spread — Cara Hudson, Ishika Samant, Chris Swann
5th Place — Column — Charis Adkins
Honorable Mention — Yearbook Cover — Emily Escobedo, Cara Hudson
Honorable Mention — Blog — Sophie Villarreal
Honorable Mention — Editorial Cartoon — Corynn Young
Honorable Mention — Interactive Graphic — Julius Stole, Cara Hudson, Emily Escobedo
2024 CMA Pinnacle Awards
1st Place — Best Web Sports Section — Caleb Elizondo, Hunter Mitchell, Luke White
1st Place — Best General Email Newsletter — Caleb Elizondo, Ameenah Wilson
1st Place — Best Magazine Sports Page/Spread — Pranay Dhoopar
1st Place — Best Feature Story — Nicholas Gutteridge
1st Place — Best Special Section Cover — Ishika Samant
1st Place — Best Yearbook Division Page/Spread — Cara Hudson, CJ Smith, Ashely Bautista
2nd Place — Best Reader Promotion Campaign — Julius Sjolie
2nd Place — Best Editorial Illustration — Corynn Young
2nd Place — Best Yearbook Entertainment Page/Spread — Cara Hudson, Adriano Espinosa
2nd Place — Best Magazine Cover — Pranay Dhoopar
2nd Place — Best Newspaper Photo Page/Spread — Chris Swann, Kyle Heise, Pranay Dhoopar
2nd Place — Best Magazine Entertainment Page/Spread — Chris Swann
2nd Place — Best Column — Charis Adkins
2nd Place — Best Print Sports Section — Hunter Mitchell, Luke White, Zoe May
2nd Place — Best Sports Feature — Ian Curtis
3rd Place — Best Coverage of Diversity — Emelia Gamez
3rd Place — Best Multimedia News Story — Mia Putnam, Chris Swann, Sophie Villarreal
3rd Place — Best Newspaper Nameplate — Nikhil Vadi, Ishika Samant
Honorable Mention —Best Headline — Sydnei Miles, Zoe May
Honorable Mention — Best News Website Front Page — Caleb Elizondo, Amy Steward
Honorable Mention — Best Yearbook Feature Page/Spread — Cara Hudson, Ani Tummalapalli, CJ Smith
Honorable Mention — Best Yearbook News Page/Spread — Cara Hudson, Ishika Samant, Chris Swann
Honorable Mention — Best Multi-Media Ad Campaign — Carmen Horrillo-Tamayo
Honorable Mention — Best Photo Illustration — Pranay Dhoopar
Honorable Mention — Best Portrait — Ishika Samant
Honorable Mention — Best Investigative Sports Story — Ian Curtis
Honorable Mention-Yearbook of the Year — 2023 Aggieland — Megan Williams
Honorable Mention — Best Breaking News Coverage of Diversity — Stacy Cox
Honorable Mention — Best Yearbook Cover — Emily Escobedo, Cara Hudson
