The Voice
Recently, The Setonian placed in seven categories in the New Jersey Press Foundation’s annual NJ College Newspaper Contest. Among the entries were two first-place finishes, three second-place finishes and two third place finishes. Four of the awards honored three individuals: Ashley Turner, Elizabeth Swinton and myself. The remaining three recognized the joint efforts of our collective Editorial Board and staff.
The categories in which The Setonian placed were Feature Writing, Biography/Personality Profile Writing, Editorial Writing, Column/Opinion Writing, Sports Writing, Overall Website and General Excellence.
Those last two – Overall Website and General Excellence – those are the ones that are special. As honored as I am to have received individual recognition, and as thrilled as I am to see Elizabeth and Ashley duly acknowledged, it is those two awards that I take special pride in.
While all of these awards are deserved upon individual efforts, it is those last two that are true testaments to The Setonian’s team mentality. Winning those awards, which essentially acknowledge the overall quality of our site and paper, requires writing, reporting, editing, photography, design, layout, management, social media and more. In other words, everything we do – and in cooperation with one another to boot.
What makes me so proud, as The Setonian’s Editor-in-Chief, is that teamwork is something I have stressed all year. Our showing in this contest is a direct reflection of that. But that has been the case long before we won anything, and for that I am even prouder.
So this is my public recognition and celebration of a group that I feel doesn’t get enough of it despite the countless hours it puts in. That doesn’t mean the work stops, the hunger ceases or the drive disappears – we’re certainly determined to maintain and improve our standards.
Instead, I’m just taking the time for a team that gives so much of it.
The Voice is intended to best represent the collective opinion of The Setonian’s Editorial Board. This particular edition was written solely by The Setonian’s Editor-in-Chief, Gary Phillips.
