Southeastern students win 14 awards in national competition


Monday, March 2, 2015
by: Tonya Lowentritt 

HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana University students have been honored with the most awards ever in the 2015 Gold Circle Awards for Yearbooks from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association for their work on the university's 2014 annual "Le Souvenir."

The 2015 Gold Circle Awards attracted more than 4,600 entries from yearbook and digital media from colleges, universities and secondary schools throughout the United States. Gold Circle Awards recognize superior work by student journalists, usually as individuals, but sometimes as an entire staff working with either print or online media.

"This year, our students earned an unprecedented 14 awards for their work," said Director of Student Publications Lee E. Lind. "Their dedication and expanding knowledge about the craft allows them to compete and be recognized alongside their peers from schools across the nation, many of whom are much larger and have many more resources than we have."

Chris Martin, a 2014 communications graduate from Albany, earned three 1st place awards for his design and photography work in categories such as "title page design" and "sport action photo." His submission in the "photo portfolio" category, a collection of photography published in the yearbook, was selected as the best in the competition. He also received a 2nd place honor for his written work in the "sports reporting" category.

"As the Editor in Chief of the 2014 Le Souvenir yearbook, I am honored that we received 14 awards from the prestigious Columbia Scholastic Press Association," said Martin. "As a recent graduate, the skills and experience I gained while at Student Publications from both the yearbook and newspaper have enabled me to start my career as a journalist on the right foot. Immediately after production finished for the yearbook, 'The Advocate' in Baton Rouge hired me as a page designer on their copy desk. As for the work during my time as a student, I must thank all of my fellow students who made all of this possible. Without their tireless efforts, none of these accomplishments would have been possible."

Martin teamed with several other students to garner recognition in two additional competition categories. He and Assistant Editor Fernanda Chagas, a sophomore graphic design and printmaking major of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, partnered to earn a 2nd place recognition in the "student life spread: one spread" category and a 3rd place for the design of the book's cover. Chagas, who is editor for the upcoming 2015 edition of the yearbook, also earned a 3rd place award for her writing in the Greek and student organization section of the book.

"I know all the effort and hard work that Christopher and the staff put into the yearbook, and seeing it being recognized by such a prestigious institution makes up for all the late hours and morning meetings at the office," said Chagas. "Being editor now, makes me appreciate all the dedication and creativity he put into the making of this book. I hope we can do as a good job as he did, and bring in even more pride to Southeastern's legacy."

Additional students recognized were Claire Salinas, a 2014 communications graduate from Hammond, and Cyprien Campeaux, a senior graphic design major from Haughton. Salinas was recognized for her feature writing in the student life section of the yearbook and also partnered with Martin to earn a 3rd place award for their design work in the "sports spread: one spread" category. Campeaux also earned a 3rd place standing for his photography in the "academic photo" category.

Additional awards were bestowed on the staff for submissions that required the collaboration of three or more individuals. These included a 1st place standing for design work featuring Southeastern's fall and spring commencement ceremonies in the "academic spread multi-page presentation" category. Design work by the staff was also recognized in three other categories including sports, people spreads, and the index of the book.

"I couldn't be prouder of our students," said Lind. "The skills and experience they acquire by working with Student Publications not only allows them to reach a level of excellence in these competitions, but also readies them for employment in a variety of fields."

The CSPA is an international student press association, founded in 1925, uniting student journalists and faculty advisers at schools and colleges through educational conferences, idea exchanges and award programs. It is based out of Columbia University in New York.

 




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