Feb 22, 2018 3 min read

WAYNESBURG – Mattie Winowitch, executive editor of Waynesburg University’s newspaper, The Yellow Jacket, was preparing the next edition of the paper when she got the news.

The student publication has received a record number of awards from the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association for its work in 2017. The eight awards in Division II is four more than the paper received last year. The division covers institutions with enrollment under 10,000.

The awards cover several areas, including photography, feature stories, news and sports. Winowitch and one of the paper’s advisers, Sarah Bell, believe the wide range of awards shows the skill of Waynesburg University’s communications students.

“This is a moment that I have been waiting for from the moment I first sat in my executive editor chair this past August,” Winowitch said. “And to be able to say that I helped lead my staff to accomplish this difficult and amazing feat is more than I could ever ask for.”

Winowitch, a junior journalism major, said her goal coming into the executive editor position was to win at least one of the Keystone Press Awards. Though individual students and graduates are recognized, Winowitch said each and every member of the paper’s 25-member staff contributed to winning the awards.

The Yellow Jacket won four awards from PNA and 11 from the Society of Professional Journalists in 2017 for work the previous year. Winowitch said the newspaper is still waiting for this year’s SPJ results.

She’s thankful for the long hours and dedication of her classmates. It takes the commitment of a full-time job, on top of classes and other activities that make up an already full schedule. Winowitch hopes the community recognizes their dedication and passion for journalistic integrity.

“Being selected to receive awards in a range of categories – from feature writing and sports to photography and layout – speaks volumes to the quality of student journalism at The Yellow Jacket,” Bell said.

A unique aspect of the paper, Bell added, is that there are students with a wide range of majors with varied skills who are on The Yellow Jacket staff. The number of students with different disciplines and diverse interests and skills is a benefit to the publication. Some other schools may come to mind as a destination for those interested in a career in journalism, but awards like these help put Waynesburg on the map, she said.

Included in the honorees is the Observer-Reporter’s own Jacob Meyer, who is named in three awards: second place in the public service/enterprise package category for a story on sexual assault on Christian college campuses, second place for a feature story on the same topic, and first place in the sports story category with Luke Goodling for a profile of defensive lineman Brad Grinnen after his death last year. Meyer, a staff writer for The Almanac and sports writer for the Observer-Reporter, graduated from Waynesburg University in 2017 and also is an adviser for The Yellow Jacket.

Winowitch, Teghan Simonton, Mitchell Kendra and Shon Meade also were recognized. The Yellow Jacket received three first-place awards, four second-place awards and one honorable mention.