Muskegon Community College alumnus Jeremy Wahr, a former co-editor of the college’s newspaper The Bay Window, was named the Student Journalist of the Year in Division II at the Michigan Community College Press Association’s 2019 Conference and Awards Ceremony on April 6 at Central Michigan University.
“Jeremy’s entries show a well-rounded young journalist with a nose for news,” wrote Chad Roberts, a business slot editor for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and one of the judges for the competition. “His adviser writes that Jeremy is ‘clearly the best all-around journalism student I had had at MCC.’ Versatility appears to be Jeremy’s big strength at this point in his life as a journalist. And that is great. Write about anything and everything. With his entries, Jeremy displays confidence in reporting news, writing opinion columns and even teaming with colleagues on a strong campus-related editorial.”
After graduating in 2018 from MCC, Wahr attended Michigan State University and worked with the Capital News Service in Lansing. He is a sergeant in the Michigan National Guard.
The Bay Window also captured a first place award for the editorial, “Stop the Bleeding at Lakeshore Center; Sell It or Just Shut It Down,” while columnist Steven Wieschowski won first place in the Humor Column category for a second consecutive year for his piece “A Visit from St. Nicholas 21st Century Update.”
“Once again, we held our own against the larger schools and took home 10 major writing awards, including three firsts, two seconds, three thirds, and two honorable mentions,” said Sue Martens, the newspaper’s advisor. “These are statewide awards that attest to the excellent writing from Bay Window staffers.”
Earning second places in the statewide competition were: Amy Huber, Humor Column, “People with OCD (like me) do crazy stuff” and Stephanie Kennert, Serious Column, “There’s a booming industry of generational blame: Social media has found a niche in the things baby boomers believe millennials are killing.”
Third place awards went to: Erika Gill, Editorial, “Keep the ‘…And Justice for All’ series; just don’t let it become another fiasco,” Stephanie Kennert, News, “Emotet virus: No email, no Blackboard, no winter registration, no college business,” and The Bay Window staff for General Excellence in Division II.
Receiving Honorable Mentions were: Stephanie Kennert and Ayden Tyler, In-Depth Reporting, for “So recreational pot is legal in Michigan. Now what?” and Dalton Klenk, Sports Feature, “Balancing sports and academics requires time management skills.”