CWU student media takes home regional awards

ELLENSBURG — Central Washington University’s student journalists rose to the top of Region 10 again this year in the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Mark of Excellence contest.

PULSE magazine won two categories — Best Student Magazine and Best Feature Writing — and The Observer student newspaper won for Best Affiliated Website. Both publications also earned two finalist selections each in Region 10, which includes schools from Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho and Montana.

PULSE was a finalist for Best Affiliated Website and for Illustration on a graphic titled “Mental health in the metaverse.” The Observer earned finalist honors for Best Student Newspaper and for In-Depth Reporting for its “Title IX cases sweep campus” story series last fall. Adding to the awards’ prestige, three of the entries were competing in the large school category: Best Newspaper (Observer), In-depth Reporting (Observer), and Feature Writing (PULSE).

Region 10 contest winners will compete at the national level among other Mark of Excellence winners from the 12 SPJ regions. National winners will be notified later this spring and will be recognized at the SPJ’s 2023 convention in September in Las Vegas.

Lexi Wicks, who served as editor in chief for PULSE from 2021-22, said winning Best Student Magazine is a special honor for her and her former colleagues.

“I have won other awards, but not quite as significant as this,” said Wicks, a 2022 CWU journalism graduate who now works as an editor and content creator for the tourism website Explore Washington State. “It feels good to know our work is being recognized, and knowing I had a hand in every piece of this magazine for two years makes it all feel worthwhile.”

Wicks — who was succeeded this year by Noah Wright—thanked CWU professors Jennifer Green and Terri Reddout, among others, for their guidance and support as she worked to produce one of the best student publications in the nation.

“They always pushed me to be better, and they never let me have a lazy day,” Wicks said. “They taught me to take pride in everything I do, and now I am editing and managing other professional writers.”

Two of Wicks’ staff members at PULSE, writers Spencer Clifton and Caya Berndt, also came away victorious in this year’s SPJ contest, winning Best Feature Writing for his story titled “Unseen dangers of marijuana.” Clifton said he had previously written a number of positive stories about cannabis use, and he wanted to approach the subject from a different angle.

“Through my research, I learned some things that were pretty eye-opening,” the 2022 communication and media studies graduate said. “There’s a sickness that affects a lot of people when they use too much cannabis—more than you might think. Marijuana can change the chemistry of the body, and it’s a condition that gets overlooked by a lot of young people. But it’s a very real thing that is affecting a lot of people.”

Clifton, who also won an SPJ award last year for co-writing “Beyond Skin Deep” along with Wicks and fellow alums Katie Jo Stewart and Kassandra Eller, is now working as a communications and marketing specialist for a roofing company. He said the skills he learned at CWU have given him an excellent head start on his career.

“I loved every aspect about CWU,” he said. “The faculty there taught me how to learn, and that was very important in my development. Now, I am lucky enough to use my degree in my work because not everyone gets to do that.”

Central’s third contest victory this spring went to The Observer for Best Affiliated Website. Editor in Chief Katherine Camarata credited the hard work of her staff, and the group of student journalists who came before them—specifically, former Editor in Chief Star Diavolikis.

“It means so much to see all of our hard work come to fruition,” said Camarata, a psychology major who is also pursuing minors in communication and philosophy. “Our team puts in a lot of effort on every edition, and being recognized like this is a huge confidence boost for all of us.”

Camarata added that she feels just as honored to know that The Observer was a finalist for Best Student Newspaper.

“Winning these awards is very validating because it affirms that we are going in the right direction,” she said. “Star also deserves a lot of credit. She taught me the ropes and handed me a well-oiled machine when she left.”

Camarata praised the work of her three lead reporters for the 2022-23 academic year — Morgana Carroll, Megan Rogers and Sports Editor Isaac Hinson — saying, “They have grown leaps and bounds.”

“Now, they are becoming important voices on campus with their reporting, and I am really proud of them,” she said.