By Trinity Times Staff

Student journalists from Trinity Washington University won 29 awards on June 27 at the 2025 Catholic Media Conference in Phoenix.

Trinity students received the majority of the Catholic Media Association’s 2025 St. Juan Diego Collegiate Awards — more than any other college or university — including the top honor of Student News Organization of the Year. Recent graduate Brittany McAlister was named Journalist of the Year.

Trinity students earned 11 first-place awards, nine second-place awards, five third-place awards, and four honorable mentions.

Four of the first-place awards were “Best in Show” honors:

• Trinity Times was named Best Student News Organization of the Year and Best New Student Publication. The judge’s included the following note. “This work is of the highest caliber! It’s so refreshing to see and hear not only such great stories, but also such great work in telling them, across multimedia. This is an example worth sharing. Congratulations!”
• Enlightened Exchanges, the university’s student podcast, won Best Collegiate Podcast/Radio Show.
• Journalist of the Year went to McAlister, a 2025 graduate now enrolled in American University’s graduate journalism program. The judge’s included the following note. “Brittany McAlister’s portfolio demonstrates excellence in both journalistic rigor and storytelling. Each article is cleanly structured, deeply reported and intentionally connected to community issues. Her voice is compassionate and clear, and her work reflects the best of Catholic collegiate journalism – truth-seeking, justice-minded, and grounded in human dignity. A standout submission!”

“The fantastic recognition for the work of our student journalists … is a result of years of hard work and dedication to journalistic excellence,” said Trinity President Patricia McGuire.

Additional first-place honors:

• Best Multimedia Package – Nina Payne for “Jan. 6 Weighs on Student Voters Disheartened by 2024 Election Choices.”
• Best Use of Multimedia for Storytelling – Saron Gebereegziabhier and Nina Payne for “Trinity’s New Africana Reading Room Envisioned as Defiant Symbol Against Anti-DEI Crusade.”
• Best Article on Social Justice – Gebereegziabhier for the same story.
• Best Coverage of Culture or Diversity – Payne for “Trinity Officials Forge Ahead with Dialogue on Racism in Higher Education.”
• Best In-Depth Profile Feature – Gebereegziabhier for “Defying Odds: NASA Scientist Brings the Universe to Trinity Students.”
• Best Video of Faith on Campus – McAlister for “Trinity Food Pantry Addresses Local Hunger.”
• Best Podcast/Radio Segment – Gebereegziabhier and LaPorsha Jackson for “Self-Care and Why It’s Important.”

Second-place awards:

• Best Video News – Payne for “Weighing Jan. 6 As Election Issue.”
• Best Podcast/Radio Segment – Payne and Gebereegziabhier for “Mystery and Controversy Around Critical Race Theory.”
• Best Multimedia Package – Aiesha Wilson and Nneka Browner for “Black Catholic Priest Is a Trinity Social Justice Champion.”
• Best Use of Multimedia for Storytelling – Wilson and Browner for the same story.
• Best Article About Faith on Campus – Wilson for the same piece.
• Best News Reporting – Gebereegziabhier for “Assassination Attempt Is ‘Shocking’ but Not ‘Surprising,’ Say Trinity Scholars and Students.”
• Best Coverage of Culture or Diversity – Sydney Ware for “Gentrification Continues to Displace D.C. Natives.”
• Best Video Presentation of Faith on Campus – Browner for “Priest Serves as Social Justice Champion.”
• Best Video Feature – Payne, Browner, Kiera Thomas, Kia Ross, Jasmine Marshall and McAlister for “‘Senioritis’ Sufferers Need Support.”

Third-place awards:

• Best Use of Multimedia for Storytelling – Gebereegziabhier for “‘Democracy on the Ballot’ Symposium Inspires Students to Shape the Nation’s Future.”
• Best Multimedia Package – Payne, Browner, Thomas, Ross, Marshall and McAlister for “‘Senioritis’ Is a Thing and Some Students at Trinity Washington University Have It.”
• Best In-Depth Profile Feature – Payne for “Activist Kymone Freeman Makes Green Party Run for D.C. Nonvoting Congressional Delegate Seat.”
• Best Video News – Marshall for “Possible Ban on TikTok Concerns Gen Z.”
• Best Video Feature – Thomas for “The Balance of College Academics and Sports.”

Honorable mentions:

• Journalist of the Year – Payne
• Best Podcast/Radio Segment – Gebereegziabhier and Ross for “The Challenges of Being a Commuter College Student.”
• Best Podcast/Radio Segment – Gebereegziabhier and McAlister for “The Possibilities of Peace in a World with Endless War.”
• Best Video Feature – Ross for “Trinity Family Library Holds Culture Fest.”

“The awards from the CMA are more than just affirmations of a job well done,” said Chaz Muth, Trinity’s newsroom director and chair of the journalism and media studies program. “The awards let us know what resonates with the public and how to best inform audiences about the most important issues of the day.”