{"id":6669,"date":"2026-04-28T14:23:56","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T20:23:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/?p=6669"},"modified":"2026-04-28T14:23:56","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T20:23:56","slug":"the-radionian-wins-top-honor-brings-home-14-awards-at-state-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/news\/the-radionian-wins-top-honor-brings-home-14-awards-at-state-competition\/","title":{"rendered":"The Radionian wins top honor, brings home 14 awards at state competition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Story by Savanna Edwards, Radionian editor<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ELLISVILLE – A year of hard work, collaboration and commitment to journalism paid off for the Radionian staff, which earned top honors at the 2025 Mississippi Press Foundation Student Media Awards held March 26 in Ridgeland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Radionian received first place for General Excellence among all community colleges in Mississippi, the competition\u2019s highest honor, recognizing the overall quality of the publication rather than the work of just one individual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike individual categories, General Excellence recognizes the overall quality of a newsroom, such as reporting, writing, editing, design and photography.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Radionian brought home a total of 14 awards, highlighting the strength and consistency of the student-led publication across multiple categories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The success was driven by strong performances in writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emma Claire Lowe earned first place for Best General News Story for her coverage of the new simulation center, while Sami Jordan placed third for her story on graduation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In feature writing, Andie Boo Mills received first place for her story on instructor Caleb Smith, and Destiny Velasco earned second place for her feature on BSU Director Frank Porter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aubrey Katie Patterson earned first place for Best General Interest Column, further strengthening the Radionian\u2019s performance in opinion writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jackson Vella placed first for Best Sports Column among all colleges, one of the most competitive wins of the event, as the category included entries from both community colleges and universities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWinning the best sports column meant a lot, especially since it was among all colleges,\u201d Vella said. \u201cI feel like I really worked for it. Winning that award proved to myself that I am a good writer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photography also played a major role in the Radionian\u2019s success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ariel Roberts earned first place for Best General News Photo for \u201cOffice Chair Olympics,\u201d while Andrea Castro placed second in the same category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In sports photography, Landon Joy earned both first and second place for his action shots of men\u2019s soccer player Terin Davis and wide receiver T.K. Keyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0Emma Brunet led the feature photography category with first place, followed by Sami Jordan in second and James Ellis in third.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While individual awards recognized standout work, the General Excellence award ultimately reflected what the Radionian staff accomplished together as a newsroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur staff winning General Excellence just proves what we can do,\u201d Vella said. \u201cI came onto this team last fall with no prior journalism experience. Throughout working with this staff, I have been able to grow so much.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From covering campus events and student life to features and opinion pieces, the publication consistently delivered content that informed and engaged with the Â鶹ֱ²¥ community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would say the staff doesn\u2019t just put together stories, but it helps writers who want to learn be able to grow,\u201d Vella said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Spring 2026 Radionian staff includes Kate Atwood of Ellisville; Caitlynn Brady of Myrick; Malachi Davis of Petal; Savanna Edwards of Heidelberg; Nathan Gavin of Bay Springs; Jayla Jones of Quitman; Katie Patterson of Ellisville; Kaylea Rogers of Raleigh; Walker Robinson of Moselle; James Shelton of Hattiesburg; Milo Stroud of Sumrall; Destiny Velasco of Ellisville; Jackson Vella of Mobile, Alabama; Jordyne Cochran of Ellisville; and Caroline Whittington of Sumrall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have some really great students and fantastic editors this year, and it shows,\u201d said Kelly Atwood, the Radionian adviser. \u201cWe have had a decades-long reputation as an award-winning publication, and I\u2019m so proud of my students\u2019 work and dedication. The Radionian couldn\u2019t be the success it is without them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the semester comes to a close, the awards reflect not just success but the long hours, teamwork and commitment that define the Radionian newsroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students interested in joining the Radionian staff can contact adviser Kelly Atwood at kelly.atwood@jcjc.edu<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo Caption SUBMITTED<\/strong>: Front row, editors Caitlynn Brady of Myrick, Jayla Jones of Quitman, <\/strong>Jackson Vella of Mobile, Alabama, and Savanna Edwards of Heidelberg; middle row, Caroline Whittington of Sumrall, Kathryn Atwood of Ellisville, Jordyne Cochran of Ellisville, Destiny Velasco of Ellisville, Kaylea Rogers of Raleigh, Malachi Davis of Petal; back row, Milo Stroud of Sumrall, James Shelton of Hattiesburg, Aubrey Katie Patterson of Ellisville, Walker Robinson of Moselle, James Ellis of Hattiesburg and Nathan Gavin of Bay Springs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Story by Savanna Edwards, Radionian editor ELLISVILLE – A year of hard work, collaboration and commitment to journalism paid off for the Radionian staff, which earned top honors at the 2025 Mississippi Press Foundation Student Media Awards held March 26 in Ridgeland. The Radionian received first place for General Excellence among all community colleges in … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “The Radionian wins top honor, brings home 14 awards at state competition”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6670,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6669"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6669"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6669\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6671,"href":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6669\/revisions\/6671"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jcjc.edu\/jcnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}