The Echo staffers make it easy to celebrate excellence in journalism.
The College Media Association (CMA) seeks to recognize the best multimedia journalism annually. They do this through a series of contests aimed to empower students, gain national recognition and set professional standards for aspiring storytellers, the CMA website said.
“Participating in CMA student contests helps students build portfolios, raise their publication’s visibility, and benchmark their work alongside peer institutions,” the CMA website said. “Winning entries are featured at CMA conventions, shared with the broader journalism community, and published as models of excellence.”
Four Taylor students did just this last fall of 2025: Grace Normand, Karlee Johnson, Samantha Saad and Caleb Joshua Heffron.
Leading the staff writers during this CMA contest period were Makenna McCord and Contessa Hussong, former Echo co-editors in chief. McCord finished her degree program in Fall 2025 and Hussong graduated from Taylor University in Spring 2025.
“The Echo team’s recognition at this nationwide level is well-deserved,” Alan Blanchard, the associate professor of journalism, executive director of the Pulliam Journalism Center and the Echo faculty adviser, said. “The Echo is made up of a great team of students from a variety of majors. They include multimedia journalism majors, but also students majoring in communication, professional writing, social work, history, marketing and more."
The Pinnacle Awards are a recognition of quality and a career launching point for student journalists.
Grace Normand, senior communications major, placed second in the Division Three Sports Column category with her article, "Normand's Nuggets: The NFL's concussion crisis still looms large."
“I dipped my toe in something that I just wanted to try out,” Normand said. “I wanted a little more sports writing experience because I have a sport management minor, and that's an area of passion and interest to me, and so I just wanted to explore that more and get good practice. And it's nice to see that that kind of paid off and was recognized in a way I certainly wasn't expecting.”
Karlee Johnson, senior multimedia journalism major, placed third in Division III General News Story category with her piece, "New student portrait show highlights diversity of Taylor campus."
Johnson’s article told the story of a student portrait show that aimed to capture the diversity among Taylor students. The portraits used the same lighting and angle in each photograph to portray each student equally, representing unity, she said.
Samantha Saad, multimedia journalism alumni, received an Honorable Mention in the Division III Breaking News Story category for "Marion Health East hosts ribbon cutting."
“After years of community rumors regarding the Marion Health East’s delayed opening, the hospital opened its doors in 2024,” she said. “The hospital expands services from Marion General Hospital (MGH) and focuses on outpatient services not only for its local patients, but also to travelers along Interstate 69.”
Caleb Joshua Heffron, senior multimedia journalism major, placed third in the Division III Sports Feature category with, "Halterman rewrites the record book with joy."
Featuring then-freshman cross country runner Jaynie Halterman, before the final race of her record-setting freshman year at Taylor. Heffron’s piece emphasized Halterman’s passion and depth as a runner while highlighting her as the best first collegiate season runner in the NAIA.
The Echo also received an honorable mention for their "Our View: Conflict is a Christian calling" article in the Division III Editorial category.
The featured contests included the Pinnacle Awards, Apple Awards and the Film and Audio Festival. The wide variety in each category gave media outlets and individuals from across the country an opportunity to be noticed and awarded.
The team felt a lot of pride when they received their rewards, Johnson said. The student-led meetings, behind-the-scenes editing, presentation of ideas, conduction of interviews and writing were all paid off through these awards.
“I'm very thankful that the Echo has gained recognition from the College Media Associations competition,” Johnson said. “It's an honor.”
