Student journalists for The Roar, the student newspaper of Piedmont University, were recognized by the College Media Association with eight Pinnacle College Media Awards, one of the highest national honors for individual student media work.

“We had a great showing with writers, editors, podcasters and film makers all taking home top awards among Division III schools,” said Professor Laura Hudgens, adviser for The Roar. “It was great to see Piedmont’s student media recognized alongside the best in the nation.”

Piedmont’s awards were highlighted by a 1^st place award for “Best Photo Package” won by sports communications alum Connor Creedon his photo story, “Don’t Panic, It’s Ceramic,” covering an art major’s capstone project. Creedon produced the photo story for his final project in his photojournalism class.

Students from The Roar earned four second place awards:

• Mass communications alum Hannah Osborne for “Best Portrait” for her photo to accompany the column, “Depression Loves a Friend,”
• Senior mass communications majors Hailey Johnson and Jarret Ray for “Best Column” for their editorial, “Piedmont Needs More Student Parking at the Commons,”
• Senior mass communications majors Caden Nelms and Matt Kodrowski for their short documentary, “Shot in the Dark,” about Matt’s father’s recovery from a gunshot wound; and
• Sophomore art major Liz Carter for “Best Infographic” for a graphic profiling the 2022 freshman.

A 3^rd place award for “Best Sports Feature was won by mass communications alum Anya Olson for her story, “Be Curious, Not Judgmental: A Coaches Guide to Mental Health,” about Piedmont women’s soccer coach Timmy McCormack and his emphasis on caring for the whole student-athlete.

And honorable mention recognition was earned by:

• Sports communications junior Leo Forero for “Best Profile” for his story, “Diving Headfirst Into Life,” about a teammate on the Piedmont’s swimming team who dedicated his season to his department grandma;
• Kodrowski for “Best Audio Talk/Entertainment Program” for his weekly sports-talk radio show, “On the Ball.”

“What makes these awards truly special is that the recognized pieces feature Piedmont mass communications students telling the stories of fellow members of the Piedmont community,” said Dr. Joe Dennis, chair and associate professor of mass communications. “I’m especially proud that we had students recognized at a national level in multiple aspect of media: written stories, photojournalism, audio entertainment and video documentary. It’s exactly what we’re trying to do in mass communications — create well-rounded storytellers.”

Distributed annually by the College Media Association, The Pinnacle Awards “honor the best college media organizations and individual work” according to CMA’s website. Awards are distributed in several media categories and broken down into four groups dependent on the institution’s undergraduate enrollment. Piedmont competes in the Division III category, which includes schools with between 1,000 and 2,999 students.

The Roar is Piedmont’s student media hub, consisting of The Roar student newspaper and news website at www.piedmontroar.com, Roar Student Film Productions, Roar Podcast Productions and Roar Radio, Z-98.7 FM.

The mass communications department at Piedmont University offers majors in mass communications, sports communications and film production.