The Stallion has brought 20 awards to ABAC’s campus in a matter of two weeks for their work in student media fields.
These awards are the result of submissions to The Georgia College Press Association (GCPA) and Savannah State University’s Southern Regional Press Institute (SRPI).
“None of these awards would have been possible without the work of our staff working to serve our community at the highest capacity possible. It feels like all of this hard work has been affirmed, pushing us forward,” said Delaney Garcia, The Stallion’s editor in chief.
GCPA awards require students to submit work from spring, summer, and fall releases of the current year from student journalists. These submissions may be digital or print releases including photography, advertising, comics/entertainment, and written pieces.
Individual categories are based on academic year with seniors grouped with juniors, sophomores grouped with freshmen. Staff awards are separated by divisions based on enrollment or an overall competition between all GCPA newspapers.
The Stallion took home the state’s first place “Improvement Award,” beating Valdosta State University’s The Spectator and Georgia Highlands College’s The Six Mile Post.
“Your achievements in enhancing content, photography, and design were dramatically underscored in comparisons of October ’22 and ’23 editions,” said judge commentary.
- 1st Place “Improvement Award”
- 3rd Place “Campus Community Service: Features”
- 3rd Place “General Advertising”
- 3rd Place Division B “Campus Community Service: Sports”
- 3rd Place Division B “Best Website”
- 2nd Place “Best Editorial” (Bethany Rentz’s “Andrew Tate: ‘Misogynist King”)
- 3rd Place “Best Entertainment Story” (Aileene Goodman’s “Trailer Park Boys: Be Unfiltered”)
- 2nd Place “Best Sports Story” (Alexis Mack’s “The History of Basketball at ABAC”)
- 2nd Place “Best Sports Photography” (Francisco Garcia’s Stallions Baseball)
- 1st Place “Best Review” (Aileene Goodman’s “The Beginner’s Guide Review”)
- 2nd Place “Best News Article Based on Investigative Reporting” (Bethany Rentz’s “Homophobia Remains a Campus Stain”)
- 3rd Place “Best Entertainment Feature” (Delaney Garcia’s “Pet Spotlight”)
“I had never gotten an award for writing before the GCPA awards, so I was so thankful to be recognized for my work at The Stallion,” said Rentz, copy editor for the newspaper.
SRPI hosted two days of workshops and panels for student journalists all over Mar. 1-2, just a week after the Feb. 23 GCPA awards.
These awards feature highlights for a wide variety of student media focuses with awards for topics like documentary, podcast, news, digital, photography, and public relations projects.
- 1st Place “Best Overall News Website”
- 1st Place “Best Overall Print Publication”
- 3rd Place “Best News Article” (Alexis Mack’s ABAC Hosts Walk A Mile)
- 3rd Place “Best Features Story” (Bethany Rentz’s LGBTQ Representation on TV)
- 3rd Place “Best Sports Story” (Alexis Mack’s History of Basketball at ABAC)
- 3rd Place “Best Opinions” (Cassandra Uchida’s The Military Offers False Glory)
- 3rd Place “Best News Photography” (Kobe Ross’s Fiesta del Pueblo)
- 1st Place “Best Podcast/Internet Streamed Show” (Abisai Vasquez’s Wild Chickens)
Students across disciplines have come together to strive towards progress in the last year. No matter the placements, the number of awards is a testament to the continuous rise of interest and need for student media.