The Leader takes home 13 awards at ICPA
After a year of online reporting and returning to print in August 2021, The Leader took home 13 awards at the Illinois College Press Association (ICPA) awards banquet held on March 19.
The Leader competes in both the open category and non-dailies under 4000. One award was received in the open category, while 12 were received in the non-dailies under 4000 category.
In the non-dailies, The Leader went up against North Central College, Millikin University, Dominican University, Knox College, and School of the Art Institute of Chicago, amongst others.
This year’s ICPA was in person for the first time since 2020; last year the conference was held remotely in lieu of COVID-19.
“Going back to ICPA was amazing, being able to network and share ideas with other schools is what makes it so worthwhile,” said Gianna Montesano, The Leader Editor-in-Chief. “Being able to bring 13 awards back after navigating an ever-changing COVID-19 newsroom was rewarding, and a nod to all the amazing work we’ve put forth the past year.”
The Leader’s adviser, Eric Lutz, attended the award ceremony, proud of the recognition the newspaper received at the ceremony.
“I am immensely proud of our Leader journalists, not only because of their strong showing at last weekend’s awards, but because of their hard work and dedication and perseverance throughout the year,” said Lutz.
The two-day conference offered critiques, keynote speaker Ray Long, and workshops with various college news organizations from Illinois.
Below is the full list of awards The Leader won:
Open Category (statewide competition)
Honorable Mention, Critical Review (other than film), Keithleen Mendoza
Non-dailies under 4,000
Honorable Mention, Column, Ryan Windle
Honorable Mention, Editorial, The Leader Editorial Board
Honorable Mention, News Story, Gianna Montesano
Honorable Mention, Feature Story, Afaaf Amatullah
3rd place, Headline Writing, Afaaf Amatullah
3rd place, Column, Vanessa Sevilla
3rd place, Front Page Layout, Jasmine Lillis
2nd place, Headline writing, Gianna Montesano
1st place, Feature Story, Afaaf Amatullah
1st place, Opinion Page, Jasmine Lillis
1st place, Sports Page layout, Julia Zawitkowska and Niklas Faulk
1st place, Editorial, The Leader Staff
