Courier staff members displaying this year's awards include, from left, Billy Lopatto, Mikaela Avery, Elena Fry-Hernandez, Seamus O'Sullivan, Riley King, Dawsyn Wilson, and Ryan Philliips
MONMOUTH, ILLINOIS (February 25, 2026) — The staff at The Courier, Monmouth College's student newspaper, had their finest year ever in terms of awards from the Illinois College Press Association.
Adviser Chris Goble and his students recently returned from the ICPA's annual convention and awards ceremony in Chicago, where they received ten awards, including a trio of first-place honors.
"We had a fantastic year," said Goble, who noted Monmouth is classified in the division for schools with an enrollment under 2,300 students.
"This is the most total awards won in one year and the most first-place awards for The Courier, as far as I can tell. I know it's at least true since I began advising the paper."
Seamus O'Sullivan ('26) of Chicago was the lone individual winner for a sports game story. Pat Curry ('26) of Chicago, Nayeli Perez ('27) of Galesburg, Illinois, and Ryan Phillips pooled their talents to chronicle "The Snow Game" — Monmouth's NCAA playoff game in Minnesota last November — capturing first-place honors in the video storytelling category.
The other first-place honor was a staff award for feature page design, based on a collection of front-page stories.
The Courier placed third in the general excellence category.
Phillips, who also took third place in sports page design, has already graduated, as have several of the other award winners, including Izzy Gimm, who placed second for a photo essay titled "Decking Halls at Grandma's." Gimm and another graduate, Karli Strom, placed fourth in headline writing, and Strom earned a solo fourth in feature page design.
Dawsyn Wilson ('26), of Portland, Oregon, the current editor of the newspaper, placed fourth in headline writing. She said she was thrilled by the excellent results for The Courier.
"Our time at the conference was great, especially for the seniors. We've been on staff together for a few years now, so to see all our work pay off through these awards meant so much more," said Wilson.
"This is my third year going to the ICPA conference, but it's my first as the editor-in-chief. I find great pride at our staff's individual and group success, knowing exactly how much work everyone has put in."
Wilson, Strom, and Riley King ('28) of Aledo, Illinois, shared a fourth-place award for diversity, equity, and inclusion coverage.
