NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State University student media organizations received seven Pinnacle Awards at the College Media Association conference in Kansas City.
NSU’s yearbook, the Potpourri, won first place for Yearbook Spread by Sharye Belcher of Shreveport, Vy Bui of Natchitoches and Diana Mercado Garcia of Cartagena, Colombia. Belcher, Bui and Mercado Garcia also won third place for Yearbook Division Page and Belcher and Bui won honorable mention for the yearbook’s cover.
The Hispanic Student Journalists Association won first place for a feature multimedia package by Dana Paola Barreto and Camila Lopez of Cartagena, Colombia, Mayte Sierra of Guanajuato, Mexico, Leonardo Donado of Natchitoches and Gage Ware of Glenmora. They won two honorable mentions for a profile story by Anastasia Douglas of Stonewall, Sierra and Jaya Chenevert-Jones of Pineville and a long documentary by Camila Lopez of Cartagena, Colombia, and faculty member Nick Taylor.
The Current Sauce, NSU’s student newspaper, received third place for a feature photo by Madelyn Murphy of Bossier City.
The College Media Association is the nation’s leading organization dedicated to serving college media advisers and the students they support. With a long-standing history of advocating for student press rights and strengthening journalism education, CMA brings together a diverse community of professionals who guide, teach and inspire the next generation of media leaders.
Student media encompasses a wide range of platforms, including news publications, broadcast and radio stations, podcasts, literary and feature magazines and yearbooks. CMA supports advisers across all these formats, recognizing that each plays a vital role in developing student voices and building strong campus communities.
The Pinnacle Awards are CMA’s flagship national honors, recognizing the best student work in collegiate journalism, media production, and organizational excellence. Open to individuals and student media outlets from across the country, these awards span a wide range of categories—including writing, photography, design, multimedia storytelling, advertising, podcasting and more.
Winners are selected by a panel of experienced media professionals and educators and are announced each fall at the National College Media Convention. Finalists and recipients often go on to use these accolades to bolster résumés, portfolios, and graduate school applications—making the Pinnacle Awards both a mark of quality and a launchpad for student journalists’ careers.