The Montclarion has won five New Jersey Press Foundation (NJPF) awards in the 2025-2026 New Jersey College Newspaper Contest, with an award in first place followed by two second place awards and two third place awards.
The NJPF contest is open to all New Jersey college newspapers, both print and digital, to submit their work. There are 14 categories overall with nine individual, three online and two newspaper categories, with awards in writing, photography and design.
Jeimmy Garita, assistant entertainment editor, won first place in the online video category, for her video on The First Mountain Music Festival.
“I was super surprised, especially since it was my first video for The Montclarion, I didn’t expect anything to come of it,” Garita said. “After the initial shock, I felt super happy and prideful. It’s my first award for the newspaper and I want to continue working in the journalism field so it’s nice to get some reassurance that maybe I’m not that bad at what I do.”
The Montclarion editor-in-chief, David Bien-Aime and Sophia Lazaridis a senior film and television major, won second place in the photography category for “PHOTO ESSAY: Capturing the School Spirit of Red Hawk Day.”
The Montclarion Staff also placed second in the general excellence category for the work on the Election Impact Edition of The Montclarion print magazine.
Tom Sheridan, creative director, placed third place in the layout and design category for “The Montclarion’s 2025 Player of the Year: Jacob Morales” featured in the Essentials Edition print magazine.
Olivia Yayla and Bien-Aime placed third in the biography/personality profile category for Yayla’s “Student Spotlight: Damian Cacciato on Legitimacy, Leverage, and Launching a Global Brand” and Bien-Aime’s “Portrayal of Resilience: Cancer Survivor and Her Artistic Journey.”
The Montclarion was also recognized by the College Media Association (CMA) in the 2026 David L. Adams Apple Awards. The contest is open to college and university student media outlets nationwide that attend the CMA’s annual New York City convention.
The Apple Awards recognize excellence in student-produced journalism across 19 categories, including writing, photography, design, multimedia and digital content.
Miranda Burnett, assistant opinion editor placed third in the best opinion column category for “When ICE Watches, Trust Disappears.”
Emily Ramirez, news editor and Mya Cialini, video editor, alongside Bien-Aime, earned honorable mention in the best social media coverage of a single event category for Yogi’s Big Catch Challenge.
Bien-Aime shared what this recognition means to The Montclarion team.
“Seeing The Montclarion receive recognition feels great,” Bien-Aime said. “I’m proud of the hard work and dedication the team put into the paper this year. Hopefully more awards to come in the future.”
