The Corsair, The Kilgore Review win awards
By Barron Demons
Students of Pensacola State College publications The Corsair and The Kilgore Review have a renewed sense of pride after winning numerous awards at the Florida College System Publication Association Conference in Orlando.
The Kilgore Review, advised by Michael Will, competed and won first place overall on October 13. The Corsair student newspaper staff was advised by Dr. Paula Ingram over last year leading to a second place win overall.
The Kilgore Review won a total of 12 awards including three first place awards in Poem, Art Works, and Cover. The Corsair was able to win 14 total awards including six first place awards in Feature Story, Advertising Design, Editorial, Photography, Comic Strip and Illustration.
“I felt pretty confident going in,” said Jay Phillips who took home the first place Editorial award for The Corsair. “With the way Dr. Ingram prepared us, I felt like we would do well.”
Phillips was one of the few who took home the Inner Circle Award which is awarded to students who are able to place in three or more categories.
“It was great to be able to go compete with our peers and see all of our hard work pay off,” he said.
Other stand-out Pirates received awards, such as Travis Hajenga the business manager and creative director for The Corsair who won first place in Advertising Design.
“I didn’t even realize it had been entered,” said Hajenga. “It was definitely a surprise, especially first place. I am very honored to have been awarded that placing.”
Minnie-Lee Bush, the current Editor-in-chief, was extremely proud of her staff. “I have the great opportunity to work with such amazing people,” Bush said. “They are all dedicated and full of heart. I love seeing my friends being recognized for all the hard work they put in.”
“With our current new design and direction I have a good feeling about the chance of taking first come next year. I have no doubts that the Corsair staff will only continue to grow from here,” she said.
A big part of The Kilgore Review’s production was due to Bara’ah Jaraiseh and her counterpart Antoine Clay. Jaraiseh and Clay each received a first place award and were awarded the Inner Circle Award for the Magazine Division A categories.
“I was so excited that I won first place for cover. It was all my vision/photography and design for the cover, and I was shocked when they announced I got first place,” said Jaraiseh.
Unlike the other awardees, Jaraiseh is very familiar with the Florida College System Publication Association Awards. She was able to travel to Orlando the last two years as a member of The Corsair where she won multiple awards including second place in the On the Spot Photo Contest.
“We never really try to focus on winning the awards, but it’s just a testament to the quality of the overall magazine,” said Will. “So we didn’t really expect [winning first overall] it, but we can look at it and see that it’s good.”
The Corsair and The Kilgore Review both thrive on hard work and excellence. Students who are interested in joining these two publications are welcome to visit building 96, room 9655 for The Corsair. The Kilgore Review can be reached at (850) 484-1447, (850) 484-1400 or building 4, room 466L for more information on how to become a member.
