Several Indiana State University students returned to campus with high honors from the annual Indiana Collegiate Press Association contest for their published work in the Indiana Statesman newspaper and the Sycamore Yearbook.
The group won five first-place awards, 13 second-place awards, and eight third-place awards.
The ICPA consists of over 40 member publications, including yearbooks, newspapers, online publications, news magazines, and literary magazines. More than 800 entries were submitted in the spring contest. The Statesman and The Sycamore staff members collected the awards at the association’s annual conference and awards luncheon on the campus of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis on Saturday, April 1.
The Statesman won first place for the ISU 101 issue, third place for the Move-in Guide, and third place for Division II Newspaper of the Year.
Lauren Kuenker, a Statesman layout designer, won first place for Front Page Design and Special Section Front Cover for Week of Welcome. She also took third in Informational Graphic for Spring 2022 enrollment.
Brett Trammell won first place in the Sports News Story category for his coverage of the press conference held by Indiana State University officials after three ISU students, including two football players, were killed in an auto accident in the fall of 2022. Trammell also won second place in the Sports Column category for his piece, “This football season is anything but predictable.”
Features Editor, Laney Vaughn, won second place for Special Section Front Cover for her work on the Move-In Guide and third place for Feature Page Design.
Garrett Hall, who graduated in May 2022, received three awards for photography: second place for Sports Photography; and third place for both Feature Photo and Photo Essay/Picture Story.
In the advertising contest, Kuenker also won second and third place in the Use of Photography or Graphic Art in Advertising. Advertising designer, Autumn Owen, won second place in Ad Design in a Special Section for the Heritage Trail Apartments Ad. The advertising staff placed third in Advertising Publication of the Year.
The Sycamore 2021-2022 Yearbook editor, Sophia Smith, and staff won first place for Executive of Theme. The book’s theme was “Things we learned along the way.” The yearbook staff won second place in Yearbook of the Year. The Sycamore staff also won second place for Album/Portrait Section for Senior Portraits.
Smith took second place in Cover Design and Feature Photography awards for March through the Arch. She and Caroline Merk won second place for Student Life Spread for Convocation and Overall Design.
Merk also won second place for Academics Spread for Horror Vaudeville and second for her work alongside Chris Poindexter for Sports Spread for Football.