Student journalists at SMU won 12 Texas Intercollegiate Press Association (TIPA) awards for 2021, including “Reporter of the Year” and “Editor of the Year.”

The students also won five Mark of Excellence (MOE) awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, Region 8.

Tony Pederson, SMU’s Belo Foundation Endowed Distinguish Chair in Journalism, says these contests are highly competitive and he is proud students are getting recognition for their hard work “in producing content of great distinction.”

Across the two contests, all three of SMU’s student media outlets received awards for published work (The Daily Campus, SMU Look, and SMU-TV).

SMU alumnus Kevin Reynolds (’21) served as the sports editor for The Daily Campus and was recognized as TIPA’s “Reporter of the Year” for his coverage of SMU football.

One judge said Reynolds provided breaking news before anyone else and wrote leads that would truly draw you in.

“I didn’t think I cared about SMU football, but I sure did after reading Kevin’s stories,” the judge said. “That’s the mark of a gifted sportswriter.”

Senior Mary-Wesley Maddox is editor of SMU Look magazine and was named TIPA’s “Editor of the Year” for the 2021 spring/summer and fall/winter issues.

One judge called Maddox’s work exceptional and said her “talent, dedication and persistence of excellence” really showed.

“If I would have picked up this magazine at a newsstand, there’s no way I would have thought it was a student-produced piece,” the judge said.

Senior Allysann Jackson won first place in the Region 8 MOE contest for Arts/Fashion Journalism for her piece published in SMU Look, “Supporting Style: Young Black fashion designers need more than words to succeed”.

Reynolds also received first place in the MOE contest for Sports Column Writing for his piece, “Heckled and Hurt: Sonny Dykes bows out with a loss to Tulsa”.

Both Jackson and Reynolds will move onto the national MOE contest this summer.

Below is a list of all the winners in both contests:

2021 TIPA Award Winners

Reporter of the Year: Kevin Reynolds, SMU Daily Campus, for coverage of SMU football’s 2021 Season

Editor/News Director of the Year: Mary-Wesley Maddox for overseeing the SMU Look Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter 2021 issues

First Place, Sports Game Story: Kevin Reynolds for “SMU drops second-straight game, continues late-season struggles as it falls out of contention in AAC”

First Place, Cover Design, General Magazine: Mary-Wesley Maddox, Taite Zapalac, Isabel Meadows, Sarah Scambray for SMU Look Fall/Winter 2021 issue

Second place, Sports Column: Kevin Reynolds for “What have we learned about SMU through the first three weeks of the season? Pretty much nothing”

Second Place, Overall Excellence, General Magazine: Mary-Wesley Maddox, Sarah Scambray, staff for SMU Look Fall/Winter 2021 issue

Second Place, Story Package Design, Magazine: Mary-Wesley Maddox, Julia Fox, Mary Chammas, Taite Zapalac for “Fashion in Focus: Sharpen your style with this trio of trends”

Second Place, Overall Design, General Magazine: Mary-Wesley Maddox, Sarah Scambray for SMU Look Fall/Winter 2021 issue

Third Place, Sports News Story: Kevin Reynolds for “Heckled and hurt: Sonny Dykes bows out with a loss to Tulsa”

Third Place, Breaking News: Audrey McClure for “Classes Canceled through Tuesday; Students, Faculty Lack Communication”

Third Place, In-Depth News Reporting – Video: Lauren Rangel for “Foster Care and the Pandemic”

Honorable Mention, Sports News Story: Kevin Reynolds for “’I have no clue if this is going to work’: Running back T.J. McDaniel chose an alternative recovery process over surgery. Nearly a year later, he’s still not playing.”

2021 SPJ Mark of Excellence Award Winners

First Place, Arts/Fashion Journalism: Allysann Jackson for “Supporting Style: Young Black fashion designers need more than words to succeed”

First Place, Sports Column Writing: Kevin Reynolds for “Heckled and Hurt: Sonny Dykes bows out with a loss to Tulsa”

Finalist, Best Student Magazine: SMU Look Staff for SMU Look Fall/Winter 2021 issue

Finalist, General Column Writing: Julia Fox for “The Devil is Thin”

Finalist, Television In-Depth Reporting: Lauren Rangel for “Foster Care and the Pandemic”