ONU students won many awards in the 2017 Society for Collegiate Journalists (SCJ) annual national contest.

Grant Pepper, a senior multimedia journalism major from Centerville, Ohio, was awarded honorable mention in the category of “Breaking or Hard News Stories” for his piece on drug issues in Hardin County. He won second place in the “Multi

Story News Series” category for his stories on Devan Price. Pepper also won third place in “Sports News,” second place in the “Radio Sports Package” category, and first place and honorable mention in the “Sports Feature” category.

Kasy Long, a 2017 creative writing graduate from Terre Haute, Ind., earned honorable mention in the “Features” category.

Sam Pontarolo, a junior multimedia journalism major from Pacific Grove, Calif., earned second place in the “Column or Commentary” category.

Ohio Northern’s eight awards were the most that ONU has won in the contest, and Ohio Northern ranked ninth nationally in total awards. Pepper’s five awards in the field of individual writing were the most earned for a solo journalist this year. He also earned an award for his work in radio.

Shane Tilton, Ph.D., assistant professor of multimedia journalism, advises the ONU chapter.

SCJ is a national society or collegiate mass communications. It is the nation’s oldest organization designed solely to serve college media leaders. SCJ has approximately 100 active chapters nationwide and 1,200 members.