MCCC Student Journalists Scoop Up Nine 'Keystone' Awards

The staff of Montgomery County Community College’s monthly newspaper, The Montgazette, won nine Keystones in the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association’s 2011 Keystone Press Awards, two-year college division.

“I wanted students to showcase their articles to professional journalists and be judged among their peers,” said Harry Yanoshak, the faculty editorial adviser. “The Montgazette has been blessed with some talented writers whose interest in journalism seems genuine and not fleeting.”

Kevin Devine, of Harleysville, The Montgazette’s editor, took first place in the editorial division with “Welcome Back: Hope You Brought a Hard Hat,” “My MCCC Story: How I Got Here” and “A Time of War.” Jocelyn Moye, of Eagleville, took first and second place honors in the personality profile category and received an honorable mention in the feature story division.

Photographers Norman Detweiler, of Souderton, and Dennis Verbo, of Trooper, took first place for their combined photographic coverage of “October’s Fun Festival Days,” and Detweiler won a second place Photo Story award for his coverage of the MCCC Writers Conference.

“I have a strong interest in telling stories with pictures as well as words,” Detweiler stated in an email interview. “I am not sure where this passion is going to take me.”
 
Samantha Berk, of Conshohocken, won second place for her series of columns (“Amid Construction, Noisy Library Leaves Students Frustrated,” “U.S.S. Olympia Temporarily Saved,” and “The 'Perfect' Holiday Movie”), and Jon Ferguson, of Hatfield, took second place for his video game review.

Sarah Grebe, of Douglassville, the only community college student to be part of the press corps for the National Summit on Community Colleges held at the White House on Oct. 5, 2010, parlayed that experience into “Student Attends White House Summit” and “'Take Me to the White House, Please'” and a second place award in the public service/enterprise package category.
 
The print version of The Montgazette newspaper is published the first Wednesday of each month between September and June. Printed copies are distributed at both campuses on newsstand racks. The online version is accessible to the community.

 “Winning the awards was a much-needed shot in the arm,” Detwiler said. “I often wonder why I go out of my way to do something that I am not getting paid for and don't get any credits for, either. That is, until I capture an unexpected emotion in one of my photographs or something like the Keystone Awards comes into play. It's nice to be recognized for something I work hard at and often wonder if anyone but me sees the beauty in it that I see.”