The Crusader scored national success with two prestigious “Best of Show” awards at the National Media Convention, Oct. 31- Nov. 4 in Chicago. The students from Seward County Community College/ Area Technical School brought home two prizes: a fourth place award in the special edition category and a sixth place award in the two-year broadsheet newspaper category. The special edition category is an open class competition among all two-year and four-year colleges in attendance at the show. The first place award in special editions went to Auburn University, with Florida Atlantic University second. Seward placed fourth, and such competitors as the University of North Carolina placed eighth and Indiana University 10th. In the two-year broadsheet newspaper category, the Crusader was sixth place ahead of North Idaho College; the Los Angeles Collegian took first place. “Winning a national award doesn’t seep in until you finally get back home, and realize that our paper beat some of the top schools in the nation,” said Crusader editor Jose Medrano. “We work hard because we love what we do, and it’s great that we are getting recognized for the work, time and late nights we put in.” Hurricane Sandy threatened Chicago with bad weather, but did not prevent the 13 staff members of the Crusader, adviser Anita Reed, and more than 2,500 others from attending the convention packed with teaching seminars, sessions, critiques and keynote speaker presentations, which provided useful advice in many areas of journalistic practice. The Crusader was represented at the National Media Convention by editors Jose Medrano and Tonya Loewen, news editor Matthew Adkins, sports editor Sandy Alfaro, ad manager Celestina Padilla, online editor Cinthia Serna, photographers Dawn Shouse, Jakub Stepanovic, and Jordan Long, and staff members Fabi Pena, Dylan Sandell, Martin Pinon and Jeremiah Wilson. “This staff is talented and competitive, and I wanted them to be able to attend so they could be in the running for Best of Show. They represented the Crusader and the college so well. To earn not just one, but two, Best of Show awards in such a competitive environment is amazing,” adviser Anita Reed said. “I so appreciate the support of the college and the Student Government Association in getting the students to this convention.” Every evening after the vocational section was finished, there was time to explore Chicago. Chicago is the third largest city in the United States. Among the attractions that the Crusader group visited was the 103rd floor of Willis Tower, the seventh tallest building in the world. The members also visited other locations such as Navy Pier, Millennium Park and the Magnificent Mile. At the same time it was an excellent opportunity for the Crusader staff to get to know each other better. “It made us stronger as a team,” Martin Pinon said. “The trip really made everyone on staff bond.” Pinon has been on staff for one semester and said he enjoys being a part of the Crusader. Reed said she feels the experience is one that the students value and that the awards are confirmation of the staff’s efforts and vision to be the best that they can be. “To see the Crusader special section edition go up against all of the four-years at the convention and win fourth is something these Crusader students can be proud of for the rest of their lives,” Reed said. If anyone is interested in joining the award-winning Crusader newspaper staff, meetings are Monday nights at 6:30 in Room AA131. Enrollment in journalism classes has also begun for the Spring 2013 semester.