ACP names top student magazines

Pacemaker competition names 28 finalists as ‘the best of the best’

Oct. 7, 2020

MINNEAPOLIS — Honoring the nation’s best, the Associated College Press named 28 student-produced collegiate magazines as finalists in its annual prestigious Pacemaker competition. 

Pacemaker finalists will be recognized and the Pacemaker winners announced virtually at 6 p.m. Eastern Thursday, Oct. 22, during the Fall National College Media Convention. 

“The Pacemaker is the association’s preeminent award,” executive director Laura Widmer said. “ACP is honored to recognize the best of the best.” 

The 28 magazines named as finalists represent 16 states. From the 28 finalists, 17 will earn Pacemakers. Magazines competed in feature and literary arts divisions. Magazines produced at both four-year and two-year institutions competed. 

In the feature magazine category, there are 14 finalists — two from two-year and 12  from four-year institutions. Of these 14 finalists, 11 will earn Pacemakers.

In the literary arts magazine category, there are 14 finalists — five from two-year and nine from four-year institutions. Of these 14 finalists, six will earn Pacemakers. 

Three  judges, with extensive magazine-editing experience, studied each entry discussing and analysing its strengths and weaknesses.

Gary Lundgren, ACP associate director and coordinator of the Pacemaker competition, noted that the quality of the winning collegiate magazines rivals those produced by professionals.

“The verbal and visual storytelling in the winning magazines is incredible and robust long-form stories combine with shorter quick-reads to pace the reader through the pages of the feature magazines,” Lundgren said. 

“And, the creativity displayed in the literary arts magazines is incredible — the unique formats and creative designs make the magazines themselves a work of art,” he said.

Finalists are alphabetical by state.

2020 Pacemaker finalists

Broadcast • Business • Innovation
Magazine • Newspaper • Online • 2019 Yearbook

2020 Individual Award Finalists

Advertisement • Cartoon • Design
Multimedia • Reporter • Photo • Story
Best Use of Social Media • COVID-19 Coverage

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Two-year Feature Magazine

Collegian Times
Los Angeles City College
Los Angeles, California
Editor: Ande Richards
Advisers: Rhonda Guess, Daniel Marlos

The Bleed
Lane Community College
Eugene, Oregon
Editors: Bri Butler, Toni Kerr
Adviser: Tom Madison

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Four-year Feature Magazine

Currents
Pepperdine University
Malibu, California
Editor: Milan Loiacono
Adviser: Christina Littlefield

Distraction
University of Miami
Coral Gables, Florida
Editor: Isabella Vaccaro
Adviser: Randy Stano

Ball Bearings
Ball State University
Muncie, Indiana
Editor: Samantha Nower
Adviser: Lisa Renze-Rhodes

Drake Magazine
Drake University
Des Moines, Iowa
Editor: Madi Koetting
Adviser: Catherine Staub

Talisman
Western Kentucky University
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Editor: Olivia Mohr
Adviser: Sam Oldenburg

KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion
University of Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Editor: Allie King
Advisers: May May Barton, Ryan Craig, David Stephenson

Textura India
Bethel University
St. Paul, Minnesota
Editors: Josh Eller, Emma Harville, Will Jacott, Molly Korzenowski, Zach Walker
Advisers: Paige Cornwell, Jessie Henderson, Kumar Mukesh, Sonia Mukesh, Scott Winter

Stephens Life
Stephens College
Columbia, Missouri
Editors: Leigh Ann Barnett, Jules Graebner, Hannah Kueck, Aurola Wedman Alfaro
Advisers: Dianne Lynch, Erica Pefferman

Blush
Fashion Institute of Technology
New York, New York
Editor: Nicole Plonski
Adviser: Laura Hatmaker

SALT: Military Photojournalism 2020
Syracuse University
Syracuse, New York
Editors: Don Hudson, Damon Kasberg, Janiqua Robinson, J. Keith Wilson
Advisers: Claudia Strong, Sherri Taylor, Amy Toensing

Flux
University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
Editor: Griffin Reilly
Advisers: Steven Asbury, Charlie Butler, Chris Pietsch

El Espejo
Texas A&M University-San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
Editor: Katelyn Earhart
Adviser: Donna Pazdera

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Two-year Literary Magazine

WALL
Saddleback College
Mission Viejo, California
Editor: Charles Foster
Adviser: Gina Victoria Shaffer

Miambiance
Miami Dade College Kendall Campus
Miami, Florida
Editors: Gabriela Azeem-Angel, Claudia Pardo Perez
Advisers: Tony Chirinos, Rita Fernandez-Sterling

AXIS
Miami Dade College North Campus
Miami, Florida
Editors: Natalie Aguilar, Angel Diaz, Rebekka Mason, Juan Romero, Izamara Zamora
Advisers: Carmen Bucher, Kathleen Noonan

Phoenix
Valencia College
Orlando, Florida
Editors: Deja Jefferson, Somtochukwe Nwadike, Ashley Parra
Advisers: Meg Curtiss, Jackie Zuromski

Parnassus
Northern Essex Community College
Haverhill, Massachusetts
Editor: Diana Burke
Adviser: Patrick Lochelt

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Four-year Literary Magazine

The Auburn Circle
Auburn University
Auburn, Alabama
Editor: Cecilia Wood
Adviser: Billy Ferris

Underground
Georgia State University
Atlanta, Georgia
Editor: Cayce Tiedemann
Adviser: Bryce McNeil

The Juggler
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, Indiana
Editor: Catherine Barra
Adviser: Victoria St. Martin

Scribendi
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Editors: Bettyjane Hoover, Faith Montaño, Tirzah Reeves
Adviser: Amaris Ketcham

Sanskrit
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Charlotte, North Carolina
Editor: Melissa Martin
Advisers: Kelly Merges, Joshua Wood

Colonnades Literary and Art Journal
Elon University
Elon, North Carolina
Editor: April Roberts
Advisers: Drew Perry, Tita Ramirez

Windhover
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, North Carolina
Editor: Xenna Smith
Adviser: Martha Collins

Apricity
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas
Editor: Regina Balmaceda
Advisers: Margaret Siu, Madeleine Richter-Atkinson

Illumination
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, Wisconsin
Editor: Eliana Wasserman
Adviser: Jennifer Farley