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Student Awards
Drake Magazine won first place for best feature magazine at the 2023 Pinnacle Awards.
2023
AEJMC
- Best Reporting, First Place, McCade Gowdy, urban Plains, The Anti-Suburbia,
BEA
- 2nd Place, Michael Cummings, Promotional category of the Film & Video Competition, for Part 1 of a video he made for Karl Kustoms, a custom car shop in Ankeny.
Clip Clicks
- Third Place, Best News Story, Drake Mag, Nate Eisenmann, The State of Hate,
- Third Place, Best Feature Story, Drake Mag, Lincoln Roch, When the Cameras Leave,
- Honorable Mention, Best News Story, Urban Plains, Grace Altenhofen,
PaceMaker
- Drake Mag Pacemaker Finalist
SPJ
- Feature Writing, Finalist: The importance of Drake’s wrongful convictions clinic — by Lia Reichmann, Times-Delphic, Drake University
- Best Student Magazine, Finalist: Drake Political Review
- Feature Photography, Winner: Piglet, by Grace Long, Drake Political Review, Drake University
- Illustration, Winner: The American family update, Princess Hart, Drake Magazine, Drake University
Pinnacle Awards
- Drake Mag, First Place, Division II, Best Feature Magazine of the Year
- Sydney Hamilton, First Place, Division II, Best Enterprise Coverage of Diversity
- Annie Peterson, First Place, Division II, Best Magazine Feature Page/Spread, Drake Mag
- Lia Reichmann, First Place, Division II, Best Feature Story
- CJ Younger, Second Place, Division II, Best Feature Story
- Emily Postlethwait, Second Place, Division II, Best Contents Page/Spread, Drake Mag
- Princess Hart, Second Place, Division II, Best Editorial Illustration, DPR
- Paige Minor, Third Place, Division II, Best Portrait
- CJ Younger, Third Place, Division II, Best Arts & Entertainment Story
- DPR, Honorable Mention, Division II, Best Feature Magazine of the Year
- CJ Younger, Honorable Mention, Division II, Best Sports Feature
- Grace Altenhofen, Honorable Mention, Division II, Best General News Story
- Patrick Lucas, Honorable Mention, Division II, Best Entertainment Page/Spread, Drake Mag
- Princess Hart, Honorable Mention, Division II, Best Magazine News Page/Spread, Drake Mag
2022
- Top honor for podcast in the international Broadcast Education Association Festival of Media Arts
- Top place finish for news story and best magazine in the regional Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence competition
- Two finalists in the Upper Midwest EMMY Award contest
- Recognition as one of the top award-winning journalism programs in Broadcast Education Association rankings
- Student recognized by the Iowa and Minnesota Campus Compact as 2022 Newman Civic Fellow for commitment to creating positive change in communities locally and around the world
- Won best of category in non-profit marketing at American Marketing Association chapter's Nova awards, besting professional entries
2021
- National Pacemaker award for Feature Story of the Year; Drake Magazine was a finalist
- Hearst writing competition first place for feature story
- Sixth place in the Hearst Explanatory Writing competition, ranking Drake SJMC in the Top 10 nationally in the contest
- National Teahan Award for Drake Public Relations Student Society of America chapter, recognizing strong ties to the profession
- Multiple honors in the Public Relations Society of America Iowa PRIME Awards, including top scholarship, outstanding student member, and a sweep of the student contest
- Two Fulbright Scholar semifinalists
- AEJMC honorable mention for special Covid-19 coverage
- American Society of Magazine Editors competitive internship
- Competitive scholarship to work at Society of Professional Journalists national conference
2020
- Five awards in the national Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication contest, including first place in feature articles
- National Pacemaker award for Drake Mag, plus two design awards
- Two winners in the top 10 honorees of the national Hearst Feature Writing Competition (second and seventh places)
- Four awards for design, illustration and photography in the College Media Association Pinnacle contest
- Public Relations Society of America's Outstanding Iowa PR Student and Community Champion Award for Strategic Political Communication senior project
- Emmy Award nomination in the Upper Midwest Academy of Television Arts and Sciences contest
- Public Relations Student Society of America national “Star Chapter” recognition for the eighth year in a row
- Gold and silver awards in the annual Des Moines Social Media club contest
- "Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon" internship through competitive International Radio and Television Society fellowship
2019
- Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication recognition, including first place general excellence in magazines for Drake Magazine; first place magazine editorial, Drake Magazine; third place online magazine, Drake Magazine; first place articles; honorable mention features.
- Top honors in the Public Relations Society of America Central Iowa PRIME Awards, including Community Champion and Best of Show for nonprofits.
- Seven awards at the national College Media Association Pinnacle Awards, including best podcast, Urban Plains (the journalism senior capstone project); best sports investigative story, Urban Plains; best magazine contents spread, Drake Magazine; best magazine feature spread, Drake Magazine; and awards for magazine entertainment spread, feature photo and sports feature
- PR Intern of the Year and runner-up Student of the Year in national PR News contest. Sixth year in a row that Drake SJMC has had a finalist.
- Twenty-one awards for broadcasting, video, writing, design and multimedia in the Iowa College Media Association contest
- Gold and silver awards in the regional and local American Advertising Awards contests
- Photography winner and sports reporting finalist in the national Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence contest. Twelve finalists and five winners in the regional SPJ contest, including best online student publication
- Third place in the international Broadcast Education Association Festival of Media Arts website competition
- Best in category at 48-Hour Film Project Des Moines.
- Post-graduate Fulbright fellowship and national Goldwater scholarship; finalist for Rhodes Scholar
2018
- A sweep of the “small team” category at the Broadcast Education Association Festival of Media Arts for Urban Plains
- Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker award for Drake Magazine, and multimedia sports and features awards for Urban Plains
- Four College Media Association Pinnacle awards for Urban Plains design, photography and writing
- Seven awards in the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication contest, including second place for Online Magazine for Urban Plains and two first-place writing awards
- Finalists for PR News student and intern of the year awards
- Three PRIME awards in the Public Relations Society of America Central Iowa Chapter competition, including top award in the professional Community Champion category
- Two finalists in the national Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence contest, for best online student publication Urban Plains and breaking news story
- Two Emmys in the Upper Midwest Academy of Television Arts and Sciences contest
- Clarion Award in the national Association for Women in Communications contest for public relations capstone project
- Best business Instagram account in the Des Moines Social Media Club's 2018 Hashie contest
- 14th place in the national Hearst personality profile-writing contest, out of 114 entries
- Public relations student wins prestigious Brooke Owens Fellowship for women in science
- Fulbright Scholar
- Thirteen awards at the Iowa College Media Association contest for writing, radio, social media
- Nominee for Des Moines Young Professional Creative award
- Gold award for video in American Advertising Federation of Des Moines contest
2017
- First place in the large group category of the Broadcast Education Association Festival of Media Arts Interactive Multimedia competition, for the second year in a row, for Urban Plains
- Three Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker awards, the top award in college journalism, for Drake Magazine, Urban Plains and the Annual, plus three other awards for writing and design
- PR News national Student of the Year and honorable mention for Intern of the Year
- Top 10 finish in the national Hearst feature writing contest
- Nine awards in the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication contest, including best website for Urban Plains and general excellence in magazines for Drake Magazine
- Three Women in Communications Clarion Awards, including first place in the professional Community Relations category for the public relations senior capstone project for Manning, Iowa
- Five national College Media Association Pinnacle awards for writing and design, including second place for feature magazine of the year
- PRIME Awards from the central Iowa chapter of the Public Relations Society of America for graduate and PR class work, plus Outstanding Student Member
- Public Relations Student Society of America Star Chapter
- Three gold and three silver awards, including Student Best in Show, in the American Advertising Federation of Des Moines competition
- Thirty-one awards in the Iowa College Media Association contest for writing, editing, design, graphics
- Two first-place honors plus seven nominations from the Upper Midwest Academy of Television Arts and Science for public service announcements, public affairs and editing
- Two Fullbright Scholars
2016
- Three Associated Collegiate Press print and online Pacemaker awards for Urban Plains and Drake Magazine, along with writing and design awards
- Ten College Media Association Pinnacle awards, including six first places for magazine of the year, news and profile stories, podcast, design and photography
- Two top-10 finishes in the national Hearst competition feature writing contest
- PRSA PRIME Awards for senior capstone campaigns and national PRSA Star Chapter for third year in a row
- PR News finalists for Student of the Year and Intern of the Year
- Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication general excellence and top design awards for Drake Magazine; first place editorial for The Annual and second place for Drake Magazine; and honorable mention for online magazine for Urban Plains, plus three individual awards.
- Broadcast Education Association “Best of Festival” award for interactive multimedia for UrbanPlains.com
- Society of Professional Journalists regional Mark of Excellence Awards for best online publication, best use of multimedia and best online in-depth reporting for Urban Plains.
- Silver awards in regional and local American Advertising Awards contests
- Best online edition for Urban Plains, plus 24 other awards for writing, reporting, photography, social media, headlines, graphics, design and video for the Times-Delphic, Urban Plains and Drake Magazine in the Iowa College Media Association competition
- Two competitive Dow Jones News Fund internships for summer 2016
2015
- Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication top online magazine for UrbanPlains.com, plus two writing awards
- Associated Collegiate Press first place for multimedia story of the year and magazine design, plus awards for photography
- College Media Association Pinnacle Awards for Drake magazine, photo illustration, photo package, viral video and podcast
- PRSA PRIME awards for public relations students and alumni
- Society of Professional Journalists national Mark of Excellence Award for photography, plus finalists in four other categories
- Third place in national Hearst feature writing contest, among a record 159 entries from 83 schools
- Ten awards in the Art Director’s Association of Iowa Design Exhibition for web and print designs
- Silver prizes at the American Advertising Federation of Des Moines annual contest
- Telly award for UrbanPlains.com webcast and Emmy nomination for public service announcement
- Twelve awards, including seven first-place honors, in the annual Iowa College Media Association competition
- Finalist for PR Week’s “Student of the Year”
- Top Drake senior, outstanding student organization president, and top first-year, sophomore and junior students
- SJMC graduate named Fulbright Scholar
2014
- Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker for Urban Plains, plus design and writing awards; College Media Association best website for Drake magazine and writing awards
- PRSA PRIME awards for Master of Communication Leadership and undergraduate public relations class projects, plus PR News national “student of the year”
- Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication top national award winner for magazines — 12 awards, including general excellence for Think
- Silver Telly and Emmy awards for advanced video production class project
- International Association of Business Communicators Bronze Quill awards for public relations and Master of Communication Leadership student projects
- Iowa Broadcast News Association first-place awards for public affairs, in-depth reporting
- Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence best magazine for DUH
- Iowa College Media Association awards for sports photography, sports writing, news and investigative stories for Times-Delphic coverage
- American Advertising Federation of Des Moines student “best in show” winner
- Broadcast news senior named Fulbright Scholar
2013
- Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker Award for Drake magazine; College Media Association best web presence for DrakeMagazine.com and best mobile app for Think
- First place in Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication contest for Man Up digital magazine, plus awards for DUH and Drake magazines, writing and class startup projects
- Best student magazine for Drake magazine in the Society of Professional Journalists’ Region 7 Mark of Excellence Awards, plus writing and photography awards
- Five first-place awards in the Iowa Broadcast News Association contest
- American Advertising Federation of Des Moines student conference contest winners
- Two PRIME Awards from the local chapter of the Public Relations Society of America
- Public relations senior named Fulbright Scholar
- Times-Delphic newspaper awarded first place for general excellence in the Iowa College Media Association contest, plus eight other awards
SJMC News
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