ÁñÁ«app¹Ù·½ÍøÕ¾Èë

Student media organizations win big at state conference

Colonnades, Elon News Network and Phi Psi Cli collect 11 first-place awards, as well as three Best of Shows, at the annual North Carolina College Media Association gathering hosted on Feb. 26.

For the first time in two years the North Carolina College Media Association hosted its annual conference and awards program in person, gathering student media organizations from across the state to educate, inspire and celebrate the students’ accomplishments.

ÁñÁ«app¹Ù·½ÍøÕ¾Èë students Avery Sloan ’25 (from left), Kyra O’Connor ’23 and Kathryn Williams ’22 pose with plaques following the North Carolina College Media Association’s 2021 Statewide College Media Awards.

At the Feb. 26 conference, hosted at the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, Colonnades Literary and Art Journal, Elon News Network and Phi Psi Cli yearbook were . Additionally, Colonnades, ENN and The Pendulum were honored with Best of Show awards.

The awards contest included hundreds of entries from more than 20 college media outlets from across the state. A list of Elon winners can be found at the bottom of the release.

Nyah Phengsitthy ’23, a communication design and media analytics double major, paced ÁñÁ«app¹Ù·½ÍøÕ¾Èë student winners, collecting four first-place awards. The Odyssey Scholar won the contest’s Feature Writing, News Writing, Illustration/Graphic and Single- or Two-Page Design categories. Phengsitthy serves as the managing editor of The Pendulum, ENN’s newspaper.

To adhere to COVID-19 protocols on UNC’s campus, four representatives were invited from each university. ÁñÁ«app¹Ù·½ÍøÕ¾Èë student representatives included Kathryn Williams ’22, Phi Psi Cli editor-in-chief, Kyra O’Connor ’23, ENN executive director, and Avery Sloan ’25, ENN politics editor. Tommy Kopetskie, Phi Psi Cli’s adviser, also attended the conference.

Newspaper—Small School

Best of Show – Newspaper
The Pendulum – Issues from , and 

Best of Show – Online
Elon News Network –

Digital Storytelling
First place: Courtney Weiner, Abby Gibbs, Samantha Casamento and Amanda Gibson – “â€
Honorable Mention: Mackenzie Wilkes – “â€

Feature Writing
First place: Nyah Phengsitthy – “â€
Second place: Kyra O’Connor – “â€

Illustration/Graphic

First place: Nyah Phengsitthy – “â€
Third place: Caroline Bunder – “â€

News Writing
First place: Nyah Phengsitthy – “â€
Second place: Mackenzie Wilkes – “â€

Opinion Writing
First place: Shannon Segnious – “â€
Third place: Alysha Camm – “?â€

Photography
First place: Luke Johnson – “â€
Third place: Clare Grant – “â€

Single- or Two-Page Design
First place: Nyah Phengsitthy and Clare Grant – “”
Second place: Ted Thomas – “”

Sports Writing
First place: Caitlin Rundle – “”

Literary Magazine

Best of Show
Colonnades

Fiction
First place: Christy Dickman – “Bug and Postcardâ€
Second place:  Eliza Sanders – “The Thing ÁñÁ«app¹Ù·½ÍøÕ¾Èë Nothingâ€

Nonfiction
First place: Laura Braley – “Cape Cod Storyâ€
Second place: Olivia Parker – “The Weight of Lifeâ€

Yearbook

Student Life Copy
Third place: Kyra O’Connor – “â€
Honorable mention: Emery Eisner – “â€

Sports Copy
Third place: Kathryn Williams – “â€
Honorable mention: Jacob Kisamore – “â€

Photography
First place: Willem Butler – “â€
Honorable mention: Simeon Phillips – “â€

Inside Spread Design
Second place: Kathryn Williams – “â€
Honorable mention: Rachel Cifarelli – “â€