John Brown University Communication students received 18 awards from the Arkansas College Media Association (ACMA) including Newspaper of the Year for the student newspaper, The Threefold Advocate.

In addition, senior Nichole Coates won Newspaper Editor of the Year, junior Tarah Thomas was named Reporter of the Year, junior Klara Johannesen won Photographer of the Year and senior Lacey Fryer was named Television Producer/Director of the Year for her work on JBU’s student-produced TV newscast EagleBreak. Senior Alyssa Schoenwald won second place in the Designer of the Year category and junior Becca Verhoeven received an honorable mention in the same category.

In addition to the seven general excellence awards, JBU students took home 11 individual category awards including first place awards to senior Chelsea Spencer (personality profile) and Chloe Fennell (art/illustration). Second place awards went to Lexi Christensen (feature photo), Andrew Albright (newspaper sports photo), Colleen Cornett (front page layout) and Hannah Garrett (art/illustration). Verhoeven also received a third place award in feature page layout.

Senior Kacie Galloway won both a second and third place award in the editorial page layout category as well as an honorable mention in editorial writing. Sarah White also received an honorable mention in newswriting.

“Our students are extremely committed to The Threefold Advocate and Eaglebreak, putting in a lot of long hours,” said Dr. Marquita Smith, assistant professor of journalism and chair of the communications department. “It’s gratifying to see them recognized and rewarded for all they’ve accomplished this year.

JBU hosted this year’s annual conference attended by students and advisors from 11 colleges and universities across the state.

John Brown University is a private Christian university, ranked No. 1 overall and a Best Value among Southern regional colleges by U.S. News. JBU enrolls more than 2,800 students from 42 states and 40 countries in its traditional undergraduate, graduate, degree completion and concurrent education programs. JBU is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities and a founding member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.