Petit Jean yearbook wins top award

Oct. 28, 2016| Communication |

Harding University’s 2015 Petit Jean yearbook received a Pacemaker Award at the 2016 Associated Collegiate Press and College Media Association convention Oct. 20-23. The Pacemaker is regarded as the most prestigious award in college publications and is presented annually in four categories — yearbook, newspaper, online and magazine.

“I was overwhelmed with a mixture of both excitement and shock when they announced our name,” said alumna Shelby Daniel, former editor-in-chief. “It was my plan from the moment I was named editor-in-chief to create a completely unique and unexpected book. I wanted it to be one-of-a-kind and shock people when they opened the front page.”

The 2015 Petit Jean , titled “Connected,” was judged against 42 entries from which 14 finalists and then eight winners were selected. As a Pacemaker winner, the Petit Jean is among the top one percent of yearbooks in the country.

“Our entire staff worked relentlessly to write, edit and design with this goal in mind,” Daniel said. “Winning a Pacemaker was the final confirmation that we were successful. I’m ecstatic that our team can share this accomplishment together and thankful for the opportunity to contribute to the overall success of our student publications.”

The Petit Jean joined the ACP Hall of Fame in 1988 after receiving a significant number of Pacemaker awards and finalist nominations. Several recent editions of the Petit Jean have been recognized as Pacemaker finalists, including the 2014, 2010, 2006 and 2004 editions, but this is the first Pacemaker Award in more than two decades. Continuing the positive trend, the 2016 edition “Multitudes” received fifth place best in show at this year’s conference.

Each yearbook is created by a staff of 18 students under the direction of Katie Ramirez, director of student publications. Members of the staff including current and former editors-in-chief attended the convention to receive the awards and attended lectures on various media topics.

Harding’s student publications is home to the University’s award-winning Bison newspaper, Petit Jean yearbook and The Link website. For more information or to apply, visit thelink.harding.edu.