The Columbia Chronicle earned the top newspaper honor in the mid-sized schools division at the annual Illinois College Press Association contest, collecting 34 awards across reporting, photography, video and design.
The honors include nine first-place awards, including first place for general excellence in print and the sweepstakes award for the mid-sized schools division, which includes the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Roosevelt University, along with five other institutions. The Chronicle has won the division’s sweepstakes award four times since 2020.
“I’m really proud of how well the Chronicle did this weekend, not only because we won a lot of awards in a lot of categories, but because everyone was very supportive of each other,” said Sydney Richardson, the Chronicle’s editor-in-chief for the spring semester and a senior journalism and communication major.
Sofía Oyarzún, a junior photojournalism and marketing double major, won two first-place photography awards and won the conference’s annual Ron Wiginton photo competition. It was the third year in a row that a Chronicle photojournalist has won that contest.
“My time at the Chronicle has prepared me for opportunities like this, where for two years now, I’ve been able to practice my photographic skills through assignments and learn from my peers,” said Oyarzún, who is editor this semester of the Chronicle’s Spanish-language section, La Crónica. “I’m so grateful to be a part of such an amazing team.”
Amelia Baird, a junior photography major and photojournalist for the Chronicle, received an honorable mention in the conference contest and three other photo awards, including second place for feature photo, third place for photo essay and an honorable mention for sports photo.
Michael Cortez, a video journalist for the Chronicle and senior audio arts major, took his first journalism course this semester and won two first place awards; one for best photo essay about the arrests made at a Broadview ICE protest, and one for best video for a short documentary about a Pilsen resident who feared leaving his home due to federal immigration enforcement in Chicago last fall.
Carlos Alanis-Avila, a junior film and television major and the Chronicle’s assistant photography director, won third place for his video on the hardcore music scene in Chicago.
Eleanor Lusciatti, the Chronicle’s Opinions editor this semester and a senior photojournalism major, won first place for a column about Trump’s decision to roll back wheelchair protections for airlines, which was published in the Halloween print issue.
“These wins are meaningful because they affirm our students are producing industry-level work while they’re still in school,” said Jackie Spinner, faculty advisor of the Chronicle and a professor in the School of Communication and Culture.
The Chronicle staff won first place for Entertainment Supplement for its August 2025 print edition on K-Pop. ICPA judges said the issue had compelling narratives highlighting both current students and alumni.
Kate Julianne Larroder, a senior journalism and communication major, oversaw the back-to-school issue as the summer editor-in-chief.
“It’s such a great honor to win the award because it really showed the range and variety of the stories we offer to our community, considering that campus news has always been the Chronicle’s bread and butter,” said Larroder, the Chronicle’s campus editor.
Other top wins included first place for a digital ad created by Simara Jenkins, a senior communication major who worked on the Chronicle’s social media team in the fall, and first place for news for an article about President and CEO Shantay Bolton’s first State of the College address. The story was reported by Richardson, Larroder, Deputy Editor Emma Jolly and Enterprise Editor Vivian Richey. Jolly and Richey are senior journalism and communication majors.
“It feels really rewarding and makes me so proud to be a part of this team,” said Richey, the Chronicle’s editor-in-chief in the fall. “Especially since print is such a labor of love, I couldn’t be happier to see our work getting recognized even outside of just Columbia.”
Larroder also spoke on a panel at the conference on Friday, Feb. 21, about dealing with pushback from administration over authentic, fact-based reporting.
“ICPA has always been something very important to my journey as a student journalist, not only because of the knowledge I get from the sessions, but also the opportunities opened to me,” Larroder said. “In my last year, it was fulfilling to be able to speak in a panel and see the hard work of our staff pay off at the awarding ceremony.”
Spinner led a session on using federal government databases to research colleges and universities, including how recent policy shifts have affected access to higher education data.
The awards covered content published during the Spring 2025 through Fall 2025 semesters.
“We are a powerhouse for student media,” Spinner said. “When our students earn recognition at ICPA, it signals that their work stands up against programs across the state.”
ICPA awards:
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