Category 1: news story
Judge: Chad Roberts, Minneapolis Star Tribune
first place
KATHRYN WENSKE
SCHOOLCRAFT COLLEGE
Judge Feedback: A story that is important on any college campus in the country, Kathyn Wenske did a fine job of exploring the topic at Schoolcraft, using student Madison Ling, who uses a wheelchair, to guide readers through the importance of accessibility. Wenske explained how Ling developed an excellent working relationship with the school's president to help bring along needed changes on campus. A very nice and compelling story.
SECOND PLACE
KATHERINE WARDEN
HENRY FORD CC
Judge Feedback: This short, newsy story proves that not every award-winning piece needs to be long and in-depth. Katherine Warden took a subject that we all encounter now and then --a broken elevator-- and wrote about how it affects the Henry Ford campus population. Warden used 67-year-old returning student Margaret Crouch to help tell the story. Crouch, who uses a walker, was not able to access her classroom because she could not use the stairs. "It was just so frustrating to be at the bottom of the steps and watch all my fellow students and professor go up the steps and leave me sitting there." A reader could feel Crouch's frustration, and that was due to a well-written story by Warden.
THIRD PLACE
KEVIN LOPEZ
GRAND RAPIDS CC
Judge Feedback: Kevin used student voices to express their fears of returning to the GRCC campus following the fatal shooting at Michigan State. This was a topic every college student in Michigan -and their families- was thinking about. The student voices helped to tell a tragic story. Nice work.
honorable mention
JAYDEN HEWITT
LANSING CC
Judge Feedback: A very interesting topic. Part history and part looking ahead. Keep up the good work.