By Denise Neil, Advisor
I’ve been the adviser for The Vantage, Newman’s weekly student newspaper, for 15 years, and never in all that time has the staff been so small.
Never, in all that time, has the staff consisted almost entirely of students from majors other than communication.
And yet never, in all that time, has the Vantage staff managed to win the coveted All-Kansas Award at the Kansas Collegiate Journalism award three years in a row.
But on Monday, that’s exactly what this year’s small-but-mighty staff achieved. For the third consecutive year, it was named the top four-year private college newspaper in the state, an award that includes a plaque and well-earned bragging rights.
Led by Victor Dixon and Matthew Fowler — two students who have no intention of becoming journalists but who happened upon The Vantage booth at Newman’s involvement fair before their freshman year — the core staff of six Newman journalists took home the contest’s top prize as well as many individual awards: Dixon, the paper’s editor-in-chief, won 10 — including two first-place nods for headline writing and front page design — followed by managing editor Fowler, who got four awards, one of which was first place in news writing for a story about Newman’s former pothole problem. The Dixon/Fowler duo also shared an award for headline writing.
Other winners were photo editor Dannicka McGrath, who earned three individual photography awards, and sports writer Grace Long, who won two awards, one of which was a first place in sports writing. Two former Vantage writers, Ana Zeikidze and Allison Hernadez, got one award each.
Another exciting development at the awards ceremony: Four students that last semester were enrolled in Intro to Journalism and had stories they’d written as class assignments published in The Vantage, also won awards: Jacob Brown, Avery Grunert and Abigail VanNatta, who won first place in the profile-writing category for a story she wrote about Sister Therese Wetta.
The conference wasn’t just about awards, though. The Vantage staff also spent two days in sessions led by professional journalists and picked up knowledge on topics like good photography, how to responsibly use artificial intelligence in journalism, and how to cover the growing attack on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies on college campuses. These are skills they’ll bring back to campus to help make the student paper even stronger.
This year’s Vantage staff impresses me not only because it manages to do so much with so little but also because its members understand the important role journalists play in a democratic society. Despite their busy academic schedules and involvement in other Newman activities, they still strive every week to get answers to questions students are asking, to highlight the achievements of Newman students and faculty, and to bring important campus issues to light.
I hope that you will congratulate these student journalists if you see them. I hope you will thank them for the time and care they put into their work. And I also hope you will consider joining them on the staff.
Even if you aren’t planning a career in journalism, you’d be doing important and meaningful work.
And it’s not not fun to win awards, either.
PHOTO: Courtesy
