April 6, Mt. Pleasant, Michigan — Henry Ford College student newspaper The Mirror News received 24 awards at the 2019 Michigan Community College Press Association conference held at Central Michigan University.

The Mirror News won best overall design and third place in overall excellence (Division I). Creative Editor Justin Randles won runner-up for “Journalist of the Year.” Along with Randles, Online Editor Jessica D’Alfonso and former Creative Editor Sarah Williams each won three awards. Reporter Emily Schroeder and cartoonist Parrish Broadnax each won two awards. Photojournalist Joshua Tufts, sports reporter Dominic Stankiewicz, cartoonist Rouma Khan and graphic design artists Gabrielle Sisler and Zeinab Saleh each won an award. Editor in Chief Fatima Nkata won honorable mention for her editorial on free speech. Nkata and her fellow Mirror News staff placed in the following categories:

Placement: First Place
Category: Overall Newspaper Design
Name: Mirror News staff

Placement: Third Place
Category: General Excellence (Division I)
Name: The Mirror News

Placement: Second Place
Category: Journalist of the Year
Name: Justin Randles

Placement: Honorable Mention
Category: Editorial
Name: Fatima Nkata

Placement: Second Place
Category: Critical Review
Name: Justin Randles

Placement: Third Place
Category: Column Humor
Name: Justin Randles

Placement: Third Place
Category: Video Production/On­line Audio Slideshow
Name: Mirror News staff

Placement: First Place
Category: Sports Feature Story
Name: Sarah Williams

Placement: Honorable Mention
Category: Sports Feature Story
Name: Dominic Stankiewicz

Placement: First Place
Category: Sports Feature Photo
Name: Sarah Williams

Placement: 3rd Place
Category: Sports Feature Photo
Name: Emily Schroeder

Placement: 2nd Place
Category: Feature Photo
Name: Jessica D’Alfonso

Placement: Third Place
Category: Feature Photo
Name: Sarah Williams

Placement: First Place
Category: Entertainment Cartoon
Name: Parrish Broadnax

Placement: First Place
Category: Editorial Cartoon
Name: Parrish Broadnax

Placement: Second Place
Category: Editorial Cartoon
Name: Rouma Khan

Placement: 2nd Place
Category: News Photo
Name: Joshua Tufts

Placement: 3rd Place
Category: Personality Profile
Name: Jessica D’Alfonso

Placement: 3rd Place
Category: First Amendment Reporting
Name: Jessica D’Alfonso

Placement: Honorable Mention
Category: Multimedia Reporting (Division I)
Name: Emily Schroeder

Placement: 3rd Place
Category: Sports News Photo
Name: Mirror News staff

Placement: First Place
Category: Infographic
Name: Gabrielle Sisler

Placement: 3rd Place
Category: Infographic
Name: Zeinab Saleh

Placement: Honorable Mention
Category: Front Page Design
Name: The Mirror News

The MCCPA hosts an annual journalism conference where student journalists from community colleges throughout the state are judged in 31 categories. The schools that participated this year were Delta College, Washtenaw Community College, Schoolcraft College, Northwestern Michigan College, Grand Rapids Community College, Lansing Community College, Monroe County Community College, Muskegon Community College, and Henry Ford College.

This year’s MCCPA conference keynote speaker was John Bebow, president and CEO of the Center for Michigan and Bridge Magazine. During his keynote, Bebow stressed the importance of independent journalism. Bebow shared the podium with Alexandra Schmidt, public engagement director at the Center for Michigan and Bridge Magazine, and Jim Malewitz, environment reporter for Bridge Magazine. Schmidt shared her experience landing an internship at HBO's "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" and her reporting on cannabis legislation in Michigan. Malewitz shared his experience reporting in Texas and covering national and local stories. After the keynote, conference attendees participated in breakout sessions on sports journalism, social media, photojournalism, and news writing. The conference concluded with the awards luncheon.

Editor in Chief Fatima Nkata said, "Thanks to the hard work and dedication of a great team, we walked away with 24 awards this year. This is a record win for the Mirror News, and a proud moment for us all."

Sports Editor Josh Abeare added, “It’s been an honor working day in and out with such an amazing news staff and it showed this year. From the editor in chief Fatima to my sports team this year, The Mirror News is going to be a strong force for years to come!”

Mirror News staff writer, Olivia Grantham, who attended the conference for the first time, said, “The MCCPA Conference was an awesome experience; I was able to attend useful workshops and celebrate The Mirror's success with fellow writers.”

Including this year, HFC’s Mirror News staff have won a total of 81 newspaper awards in the last four years.

The content of the The Mirror News is created, edited and designed by HFC students. It is distributed monthly September through June to faculty, staff and students. HFC’s student-run newspaper has been publishing student work for more than 70 years.

Mirror News Faculty Advisor, Peter Kim, was elected president of the Michigan Community College Press Association and will assist in coordinating next year’s conference.