By Tabitha Redder/managing editor

The Collegian staff came home from the National College Media Convention in Philadelphia with more baggage than when they left.

The College Media Association awarded The Collegian Two-Year Weekly Newspaper of the Year and Two-Year Website of the Year in the Pinnacle Awards. The Collegian won second place in the convention’s Best of Show contest.

The paper was also one of eight two-year finalists for the Associated Collegiate Press’ Pacemaker Award, the highest honor a publication can receive, comparable to the Pulitzer Prize for college media.

Student publications director Eddye Gallagher also achieved national recognition with the Distinguished Two-Year Adviser of the Year award, an honor given by CMA.

“The ceremony was beautiful, and the event was even more special because three former students were also in Philadelphia to share in the celebrating,” she said. “Two were among those who wrote nomination letters. I’m still floating and get teary-eyed thinking about it.”

Former editor-in-chief Kenney Kost placed second in ACP’s Two-Year Reporter of the Year competition and won a second-place Pinnacle in the Best Profile category for his story “Leaving Islam Behind,” which also earned fifth place in  ACP’s Best Diversity Story category in which Kost was the only two-year student nominated among students that attended Ivy League schools like Yale and Harvard.

“I don’t think I could have done any better at The Collegian, and I’m proud of that,” Kost said. “I have that for the rest of my life, and I owe it entirely to Chris and Eddye and their encouragement and just the drive they have to be great.”

The Collegian has won the Pacemaker Award twice in its 25-year history and has been a finalist seven times.

“For The Collegian to be recognized as one of the best in the nation is a great honor. But it’s even better seeing hard-working students thrilled that others consider their work worthwhile and deserving,” instructor Chris Whitley said.

Current editor-in-chief Dylan Bradley, who also worked on the paper last semester, said she is thankful to be on staff.

“I’m really proud to have been involved with such an excellent group of people that put together an award-winning paper,” she said.

Gallagher, who has been publications director since 1999, enjoyed reveling in the paper’s success.

“We attended an award ceremony every day in Philadelphia. We celebrated every evening at dinner,” Gallagher said. “The students said they loved my happy dance. It was a wonderful experience.”