Student Journalists Win Prestigious National Awards From Associated Collegiate Press
Members of "The Daily Campus" and "SMU Look" magazine earned six awards and numerous honorable mentions across reporting, writing, photography and art categories from the ACP.
SMU student journalists took home six prestigious national journalism awards and numerous honorable mentions for 2025 from the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP), whose contests are among the most competitive and honored prizes in collegiate journalism.
The Daily Campus won awards across print, web, audio/video and photography categories. SMU Look magazine took home numerous storytelling, art, layout, and photo awards, including their first award for a fashion photoshoot. SMU Look was also a finalist for the prestigious Pacemaker award, which recognizes overall excellence for the top media produced in a school year.
ACP, with more than 570 members, is a national community of collegiate journalists and collegiate-journalism advisers and its annual contests are rigorously judged and highly anticipated. The contest’s awards recognize excellence in student-produced newspapers, magazines, broadcast, and multi-platform media across the country.
“These awards attest to our students’ abilities to tell engaging and important stories across a range of platforms and to compete against schools from across the nation that are twice our size or larger,” said Melissa Chessher, Belo Foundation Distinguished Chair in Journalism. “Thanks to our talented students, our dedicated faculty, and our new curriculum, our student media produces award-winning work that measures up against the best in the nation.”
Read on to see which awards were given to SMU student journalists in this year’s contest.
2025 Associated Collegiate Press Award Winners
SMU Look Media
2nd Place, Feature Photo Package: , SMU Look Staff
3rd Place, Best of Show Award for Feature Magazine: SMU Look, , SMU Look Staff
3rd Place, Magazine Spread: , SMU Look Staff
3rd Place, Magazine Cover: SMU Look, , SMU Look Staff
Finalist, Magazine Pacemaker award: SMU Look, , SMU Look Staff
Honorable Mention, : honorable mention, Tyler Martin (Tyler Talks Fashion)
Honorable Mention, Photo Illustration: , Angelica Koutsoubis, Cali Isenberg
Honorable Mention, Rate Card/Media Kit: SMU Look Staff
Honorable Mention, Campus Media Engagement: SMU Look launch event for , SMU Look Staff
The Daily Campus
2nd Place, A&E Story (print/web): , Sydney Strollo
Honorable Mention, A&E Story (audio/video): , Sydney Strollo
Honorable Mention, Profile: , Ellen Rogers
Honorable Mention, Series: SMU Students and Faculty Feel Impact of Trump’s Executive Orders, Grace Bair, Ellen Rogers and Kirk Ogunrinde