Ouachita students receive seven national awards in Columbia Scholastic Press Association yearbook competition

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May 13, 2020 - Gabrielle Davis

Addy Goodman

Ouachita Baptist University students recently were awarded seven Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) Gold Circle awards for their work on the Ouachitonian yearbook’s 2018-2019 edition, “Untold.” The CSPA’s 37^th Gold Circle awards attracted more than 5,700 yearbook and digital media entries from student yearbooks and digital publications at colleges, universities and secondary schools in the United States and abroad, with a total of 656 winning entries.

“We were the smallest university to receive a Gold Circle Award,” said Dr. Deborah Root, professor of communications and advisor for the Ouachitonian. “It shows the quality of our students and the work they produce.”

Addy Goodman, a senior communications & media/communications studies and political science double major from Arkadelphia, Ark., who served as editor of the 2018-2019 Ouachitonian, received first place in Sidebar Writing for "Finding A Home for Life UNTOLD," third place in Theme and Concept, third place in Division Page Design, third place in Feature Presentation for "Roadtrips" and third place in People Spreads Without Mug Photos: Multi-Page Spread for "Who's Who." She also received an honorable mention in Cover Design.

Alex Blankenship, a 2019 communications & media/communications studies graduate from Little Rock, Ark., received second place in Photo Portfolio for his images in the Ouachitonian.

Alex Blankenship

“I’m excited for the Ouachitonian to win these Gold Circle Awards,” Root said. “Addy Goodman and her staff worked very hard to produce an excellent yearbook, and I’m excited for Addy and Alex to receive this recognition.”

Goodman and Blankenship competed against award-winning entries from Baylor University, Indiana University, North Carolina State University, Southern Methodist University, Texas Tech University and University of Miami.

The Gold Circle Awards program is an international competition that aims to recognize superior work in student yearbooks and digital media publications by student writers, editors, designers and photographers. Qualifying entries are student publications from colleges, universities and secondary schools in the United States and abroad between October 2, 2018, and October 1, 2019.

For more information, contact Dr. Deborah Root at rootd@obu.edu or (870) 245-5510.