The Hawkeye staff traveled to New York City Thursday the 12th to compete with other schools in the country. They entered ten categories and won three awards.

They  won 3rd place for Best College Newspaper. HakwE,  The Hawkeye’s media team, won 2nd place for Best TV Newscast and KXUL Student Radio won 1st place for Best Radio Promo.

Gwendolyn Ducre, director of HawkE, said receiving the win was a shock, since they started the media team last semester.

“Most of the schools that won, or entered, have actual news stations, but we just had our camera and an angle,” said Ducre, a junior communications major.

Ducre said she learned that having equipment is not as important as how you use it. She said she is proud of her team’s passion and their national recognition.

The staff’s hard work paid off as it helped them win against bigger schools with higher tuition costs.

Dakota Ratley said being consistent and not being afraid to take chances is the main reason for them being able to compete with big schools.

“It’s a grind sometimes, but we’ve just got to stay focused and keep working hard,” said Ratley, sports editor of The Hawkeye.

Ratley said he is excited about his team’s accomplishment and said they are determined to keep improving on “small mistakes.”

Hard work isn’t the only one responsible for the paper’s success. They have had someone leading them the whole time.

Christopher Mapp is an associate professor of communications and the director of publications. He meets with the staff every Wednesday to critique the paper and give suggestions on how it can improve.

Ashley Lyons is the editor-in-chief of The Hawkeye who gives all credit to him for their success.

“We are all so thankful for our adviser Christopher Mapp,” said Lyons, a junior communications major. “He’s the one who walked in here five years ago and helped shape The Hawkeye into what it is today. He motivates us every week to do our fullest. We can tell he’s proud of us and we owe so much to him.”