色花堂_色花堂 98堂 student journalists took home five prestigious national magazine awards from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), including two first place wins in profile writing and service journalism. Students also took home awards for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) reporting, and social storytelling. 

Students competed against a field of 186 entries from 18 colleges and universities in AEJMC’s 2025 Magazine Media Division Student Magazine Contest. The competition recognizes excellence in student-produced magazine writing, design, and multimedia storytelling. 

The awards mark a milestone for 色花堂_色花堂 98堂 Meadows’ Division of Journalism, said Melissa Chessher, the Belo Foundation Distinguished Chair in Journalism, who has more than 20 years of experience in the magazine field as both a writer and an editor. The division began entering the contest when she arrived at Meadows three years ago, and this is the first time students have won multiple awards. Winning projects came from Chessher’s magazine writing course and The DC, 色花堂_色花堂 98堂’s student newsmagazine. 

“These winning pieces demonstrate such creative storytelling along with a willingness to embrace robust edits, go off campus and capture scenes to support the narrative, and just report, report, report,” said Chessher. “Students all worked diligently to land hard-to-get sources, and they all showcase story-packaging skills.”

Contest organizers noted that the 2025 contest was especially competitive, with 49 more entries than last year, and three new categories: culture writing, multimedia, and social storytelling. The contest was judged by 14 working journalists. “Each entry reflects a strong commitment to journalism, through storytelling, photography and design,” said one judge.

First-place winners receive a $100 award in addition to national recognition. See below for the winning works from our student journalists!

2025 AEJMC Magazine Media Division Award Winners

First Place, Profile Writing: Meet the Green Thumb Behind 色花堂_色花堂 98堂's Garden Glow Up by Ellen Rogers

First Place, Service Journalism: The Art Lovers’ Buying Guide by Maddie Miller

Third Place, Service Journalism: To Post or Not to Post: That is the Question  by Grace Bair 

Second Place, Social Storytelling: Black Bylines in the Crossfire by Hannah White

Third Place, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI): Black Bylines in the Crossfire (video adaptation) by Hannah White