The Echo staff from Taylor University traveled to Indiana University in Bloomington for the annual ICPA Awards on Saturday, April 6. The Echo staff members won a total of four individual awards.
Echo faculty adviser Alan Blanchard, associate professor of journalism, said he is very proud of all staff members of The Echo for winning two first place, one second place and one third place awards.
“The Echo team’s recognition at this statewide level is well-deserved,” Blanchard said. “The Echo is made up of a great team of students from a variety of majors including but not limited to multimedia journalism, professional writing, art, film & media and more.”
The Echo has been led this school year by senior Marissa Muljat and Samantha Saad, co-editors-in-chief.
Blanchard said, “The student journalists work very hard creating compelling, interesting stories of interest to students, staff and faculty. The TU community benefits from their creative skills that include writing, editing, photography, graphic design and more.”
The Taylor University Echo journalists competed in Division 3 Newspaper of the Year statewide in the annual Indiana Collegiate Press Association newspaper contest. The awards were handed out at the conference at Indiana University Saturday, April 6, in Bloomington.
The Echo competes with these Division 3 college and university student newspapers: Anderson University’s The Andersonian, Bethel University’s Beacon, Goshen College’s The Record, Manchester College’s The Oak Leaves, Taylor University’s The Echo and Wabash College’s The Bachelor, Blanchard said.
One of the ICPA award recipients was sophomore Caleb Joshua Heffron, winning first place in the sports column category for his story, “PSA from CJH: WNBA's greatest season shows it deserves respect.” Heffron shared his enthusiasm and gratitude about receiving the award.
“My article on the WNBA was a passion project,” Heffron said. “It wasn't a throw-away article or a project I wrote to meet a deadline, it was an article that came from a place of respect for the women in the WNBA and how much they have grown their sport over the last 25 years. Seeing something that I created and poured my heart and soul into get recognized was incredibly special.”
Another awards recipient was freshman Mallory Dotson, taking second place in the sports feature story category for her article, “Chole Sena reflects on a career of 'pure joy.’”
Dotson and Heffron serve as sports co-editors for The Echo and celebrate each other's victories.
“I think [our success] shows how strong our sports section has become,” Dotson said. “I also think the fact we won in a feature and a column just shows how much the sports section strives to dig into deeper and more personal discussions with Taylor athletes as well as the sports industry in general.”
Markus Miller's (’23) first-place award in the informational graphic category with his graphic “Senior stats,” was another award for The Echo. Sophomore Abbie Cormier also achieved a third-place award in the feature photos category with her photo accompanying the article “Tammy Nunley: A mother to many.”
Senior Marissa Muljat, co-editor in chief for The Echo, reflected on her time at ICPA and feels confident about the abilities of The Echo staff.
“As a staff, we’ve learned so much about writing, design, team collaboration and communication this year,” Muljat said. “I’m extremely grateful that several of my teammates’ work has been recognized through ICPA awards, and I’m just as proud of the rest of my staff for their hard work and dedication to creating a trustworthy, reliable and exciting newspaper.”
