The Centurion, Bucks County Community College’s student-run newspaper, has won 18 awards in 2026’s Student Keystone Media Contest.
The Centurion has also been given the Sweepstakes Award for Division III, courtesy of the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, an achievement that states the fact that Bucks has swept the majority of the contest’s awards within the division.
The awards this year were given in categories such as General News, Sports Story, Excellence in Reporting on Diversity- Equity and Inclusion, and many more. The contest has served to recognize the hard work the students have put in before, during, and after school to deliver concise and informative articles.
Listed are some of The Centurion staff’s specific awards won:
- General News, First Place – In Possible Sign for Midterms, Democrats Sweep Pennsylvania and Bucks County in Off-Year Elections, Sarah Yanchunas
- General News, Second Place – British Parliament Members Visit Bucks to Seal Transfer Deal with College in Wales, Kassandra Castillo
- Photo Story, First Place – British Parliament Members Visit Bucks to Seal Transfer Deal with College in Wales, Emelia Yotko
- Feature Story, First Place – Vinyl Records Spinning Back into Mainstream, Chelsea King
- Personality Profile, Second Place – In her Varied Roles, Professor Rackin Positively Impacts the School of Language and Literature, Aidan Kegel
- Sports Story, First Place – Emily Gilmore: A Student With Many Talents, Zacchary Crain
- Excellence in Reporting on Diversity- Equity and Inclusion, First Place – Diversity at Bucks, Paul Hernandez, Lia Peralta Joa, Cristopher Ramirez & Kassandra Castillo
All of the students who’ve won these awards are very deserving of them. Kassandra Castillo, the editor-in-chief of The Centurion, says “it’s definitely a gratifying moment to see my peers wins awards especially since a lot of them weren’t expecting it.”
It can be a surreal experience seeing work done as a student not only be recognized but awarded. Castillo says, “I’ve seen the progression of everyone not only within their writing skills, but their confidence as future journalists as a whole. It’s inspiring to see our collective efforts pay off.”
These awards for The Centurion staff mean more for Castillo seeing as this is her last semester with the paper. She’s deemed the most rewarding part of the paper has been “seeing all the different majors come together to share their love for news and writing.”
Castillo says, “only half of the staff are journalism majors, the other half are as random as it gets. But we all share one passion, so it’s rewarding to see different views and personalities mesh together to make the paper.”
One of the winners, Zacchary Crain, 19, a film and photography major, won an award for the only sports story he wrote for The Centurion.
Crain reminiscences of his story’s win, “honestly, my favorite part about it was the interview. Being able to write and learn about someone’s personal story with no bias was really interesting.” However, Crain plans to continue helping The Centurion with photography in his remaining semesters at Bucks.
The Centurion is completely student run and financially independent, but Journalism Professor Tony Rogers, the faculty advisor, couldn’t be prouder of the work the staff puts in. “The thing that’s always impressive especially in Community College is how the students continue to write a very real newspaper despite constant turnover of students.”
Rogers reflects that, “At four-year colleges, students have more time to hone their experience, but despite the two-year challenge, The Centurion staff makes the paper incredible.”
The Centurion staff are proud of their work, just as Castillo enjoys watching their confidence grow, Rogers states “our students do great, and the awards are a testimony of that.”
There will be a luncheon award ceremony for the winners to attend on April 14 at Harrisburg’s Best Western Premier the Central Hotel & Conference Center. Unlike other years, students are invited to participate in a News Media College & Job Fair networking event and a scavenger hunt with prizes prior to the luncheon award ceremony.
The Centurion Newspaper is always seeking students to join its staff. If you’re interested in becoming part of the student-run newspaper, check out the weekly staff meetings held every Thursday at 12:30 p.m. in Rollins 118.
The Centurion website is located at www.bucks-news.com and on Instagram @centurion_bucks.
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