Student journalists from Grand Rapids Community College have been recognized once again for their exceptional reporting and storytelling at the 2025 Michigan Press Association’s College Better Newspaper Contest, with The Collegiate staff bringing home 16 awards..
The contest featured 548 entries from 17 Michigan college newspapers, reviewed by members of the Arkansas Press Association. Here’s a look at how “The Collegiate” fared:
News Story
- First Place: Marc Stoufer III, “Using AI changes your brain—and it might be ruining everything.”
Investigative Reporting
- First Place: Collegiate Staff, “Top athletic department staff disciplined after physical altercation.”
- Third Place: Alexa Cheaney, Vanessa Hewitt, and staff, “GRCC President Charles Lepper placed on paid administrative leave.”
Feature Story
- First Place: Juliette Bolle-Leon, “Do not go gentle into that good night: Transgender peers at GRCC speak up and speak out.”
- Second Place: Alexa Cheaney, “Meet the GRCC brothers with 50,000 records.”
Sports News/Features
- Honorable Mention: Jack Walker, “Player Profile: Marshaun Flakes and his journey to becoming a school record holder.”
Column, Review or Blog, News
- Third Place: Marc Stoufer III, “Are we okay?”
Column, Review or Blog, Sports
- Third Place: Jack Walker, “Lions defense crumbles in shocking 45-31 loss to Commanders.”
Best Writer
- First Place: Alexa Cheaney
- Third Place: Marc Stoufer III
Front Page Design
- Second Place: Dana Kistler, “Collegiate Magazine Winter 2025.”
Best News-Only Photo
- First Place: Vanessa Hewitt, “‘We’re not going back: Thousands gather… for International Women’s Day march.”
Best News-Only Photo
- Third Place: Alexa Cheaney and Dana Kistler, “Well, why would I check the news?”
Multimedia Reporting
- Second Place: Alexa Cheaney, Vanessa Hewitt, and Grace Howard, “‘We’re not going back: Thousands gather… for International Women’s Day march.”
- Honorable Mention: Marc Stoufer III, “How a team of artists transformed Grand Rapids into a living museum.”
Best Photographer
- Second Place: Vanessa Hewitt.
Henry Ford Community College’s Mirror News was named the Division 3 “College Newspaper of the Year.” The Collegiate placed second in this prestigious category.
The 2026 MPA College Newspaper contest is scheduled to open for entries on August 1, 2026.
