Student journalists make headlines with armful of accolades

Bucks County Community College’s student newspaper, The Centurion, which has been launching journalism careers for more than 60 years, has won 16 awards in the 2025 Keystone Student Media Awards contest, including first place in ongoing news coverage, public service reporting, feature writing and website.

Since 2010, The Centurion has won more than 200 awards in the contest run by the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association. It competes in Division III, which represents community colleges across Pennsylvania.

The Centurion won awards for, among other things, coverage of the 2024 presidential election, the search for a new president at the College, a series of articles about the challenges facing working students, a solar eclipse that dazzled millions of Americans, and a visit to the campus by a group of Tibetan monks.

In addition to written works, the paper won first place in the Cartoon-Graphic Illustration category for a comic strip called “Dog Life,” first in Feature Photos for pictures of the visiting monks, first in Layout and Design and first in the Video Story category for a report about the hidden underground history of Tyler Hall, the historic mansion located in the heart of the Newtown campus.

The Centurion also won the contest’s sweepstakes honor, given to the paper that wins the most awards in its division.

Centurion editor in chief Kassandra Castillo, who is credited on four of the awards, said it has been inspiring to be associated with a student-run school newspaper.

“I’ve been working on The Centurion for two semesters and I’ve learned so much in the process,” said the journalism major. “Print and online media hold so much relevance in our world, and I’m honored to be joining a field where we bring community engagement while spreading local news.”

Tony Rogers, the College’s journalism professor and faculty advisor to the student newspaper, said he couldn't be more proud of his students.

“Most of the students on The Centurion take a full load of classes and work jobs outside school, yet still manage to do award-winning journalism,” said Rogers. “Even after 27 years as a professor here, I'm still amazed by their seemingly boundless energy, creativity and dedication.”

The students received their awards at the Student Keystone Media Awards Luncheon on Thursday, April 3, at WITF’s Public Media Center in Harrisburg, Pa.

For more information on the journalism program at Bucks County Community College, go to www.bucks.edu/journalism. The website for the award-winning Centurion is at https://www.bucks-news.com/.

Below is the complete list of the 2025 Keystone awards won by the Centurion:

First Place: Ongoing News Coverage

"Election 2024"
Anna Sztenderowicz, Kassandra Castillo, Raeanne Raccagno, Christian Grosso and Jordan Evans

Second Place: Ongoing News Coverage

"Bucks Searches for New President"
Anna Sztenderowicz and Christian Grosso

First Place: Public Service/Enterprise Package

"Election 2024"
Anna Sztenderowicz, Kassandra Castillo, Raeanne Raccagno and Christian Grosso

Second Place: Public Service/Enterprise Package

"Special Report: Working Students"
Raeanne Raccagno, Daulton Parry, Christian Grosso, Jesse Fischer and Cristopher Ramirez

First Place: Feature Story

"Solar Eclipse Dazzles the Sky Across America"
Christian Grosso

Honorable Mention: Feature Story

"Welcoming President Jones to Bucks"
Anna Sztenderowicz

First Place: Personality Profile

"Music Teacher Jazzes Up His Classes"
Raeanne Raccagno

Second Place: Personality Profile

"Khush Patel Thrives Under Pressure"
Cristopher Ramirez

Honorable Mention: Personality Profile

"Professor Rackin Keeps Busy with Writing, Readings & Teaching"
Jesse Fischer

First Place: Review

"DreamWorks' 'The Wild Robot' Has the Makings of an Animated Classic"
Cristopher Ramirez

First Place: Cartoon/Graphic Illustration

"Dog Life"
Connor Sturza

First Place: Feature Photo

"Tibetan Monks Bring Interfaith World Peace Mandala"
Kassandra Castillo

First Place: Photo Story

"Tibetan Monks Visit Bucks"
Kassandra Castillo

First Place: Layout and Design

"The Centurion: Vol. 59, Issue 6" layout
Raeanne Raccagno and Arianna Keith

First Place: Website

https://www.bucks-news.com/
Christian Grosso, Madison Kifolo and Raeanne Raccagno

First Place: Video Story

"Discovering the Hidden Underground History of Tyler Hall"
Raeanne Raccagno

About Bucks County Community College
Founded in 1964, Bucks County Community College is a two-year, public institution offering more than 90 programs of study that lead to either an associate degree or certificate, as well as many workforce training programs on campus, on site, or online. Successful graduates directly launch a career or transfer to four-year colleges and universities to complete a bachelor’s degree, depending on the major. Classes are offered on campus in Newtown, Bristol, and Perkasie, and worldwide through Bucks Online. To learn more, visit bucks.edu.