Student journalists with Southern News and Crescent magazine have won a variety of awards through the SPJ Region 1 Mark of Excellence and Connecticut SPJ College contests.
Mark of Excellence Awards
The Mark of Excellence Awards recognizes the best college journalism by region, with winners competing at the national level. SPJ’s Region 1 comprises Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania (Central/Eastern), Rhode Island and Vermont.
MOE Awards entries are judged by professionals with at least three years of journalism experience. See the full list of winners here.
Among the winners were the following students from Southern:
- Feature Writing (Small), First Place, “Locked in,” Jay’Mi Vazquez and Julien Laforest, Crescent magazine
- Feature Writing (Small), Finalist, “Over the edge,” Jay’Mi Vazquez, Crescent magazine
- Feature Photography, Finalist, “Locked in,” Tyrese Abdul-Shakoor, Crescent magazine
Connecticut SPJ College Contest
Each year, the Connecticut chapter of SPJ recognizes the best in Connecticut student journalism with its college journalism contest. In announcing the winners, the board issued the following statement regarding the 2024-25 academic year contest:
“Student journalists at colleges and universities did excellent work that shines a light on the issues and stories playing out on their campuses and in their communities. This year’s contest entries and winners reflect that.
“They are an indication of the talent and training that these journalists are going to bring into the workforce in the coming years. The judges, mostly members of the CT SPJ board, commend the students and their faculty advisers for their dedication to student journalism and the future of the industry.”
Among the awards, Southern students received the following:
- Breaking News, Second Place, “Interim president speaks out,” Solé Scott, Southern News
- Column/Commentary, Third Place, “Hollywood? More like Hollyweird,” Solé Scott, Southern News
- Feature Story, Third Place, “Off the top rope,” Jay’Mi Vazquez, Crescent magazine
- Sports Feature Story, First Place, “Caiola praised on and off the track,” Avery Martin, Southern News
- Sports Feature Story, Second Place, “Uliana Pokutnia settles into college life,” Avery Martin, Southern News.
- Sports Feature Story, Third Place, “Lacrosse borders,” Jay’Mi Vazquez and Julien Laforest, Crescent magazine
- Sports News, First Place, “Baseball heads into NE10 tournament,” Dillon Flanigan and Matt Cain, Southern News
- Sports News, Third Place, “Women’s basketball marches to win,” Dillon Flanigan, Southern News
- Feature Photo, Second Place, “Fadezzz to perfection,” Tyrese Abdul-Shakoor, Crescent magazine
- Sports Photo, First Place, “Soccer Journey Hungary to SCSU,” Carly Russell, Crescent magazine
- Sports Photo, Third Place, “Men’s soccer fall short to the defending champs,” Carly Russell, Southern News
- Magazine Layout, First Place, “Over the Edge,” Carly Russell, Crescent magazine (seen below)
- Video Storytelling, Second Place, “Lacrosse borders,” Dom Sollima and Adoria Davidson, Crescent magazine
- Video Storytelling, Third Place, “Off The Top Rope,” Dom Sollima, Crescent magazine
