The Centurion, the student newspaper at Bucks County Community College based in Newtown, won a record 18 awards in the 2023 Keystone Media Awards contest, including firsts in a host of categories including general and ongoing news, public service/enterprise journalism, diversity reporting, sports and website. 

The Centurion, which is entirely student run and financially independent, has won more than 160 awards in the contest since 2010, making it one of the most-honored student newspapers in Pennsylvania. It is online at www.bucks-news.com.

Tony Rogers, the college’s journalism professor and faculty advisor to the Centurion, said the awards were for work done in the spring and fall semesters of 2022, as the college began to emerge from the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Throughout the pandemic Centurion editors have not only continued to publish the paper but done exceptional work even with fewer staffers and in difficult circumstances,” Rogers said. “These awards are a testament to their hard work and dedication.”

The Centurion swept the General News category with coverage of local reaction to the Supreme Court ruling on abortion, the midterm elections, and a visit by a racist preacher to the campus. The paper also swept the Ongoing News category with election coverage and articles about the college’s emergence from the pandemic. 

Among other awards, the Centurion swept the Feature Story category with a profile of a Bucks County eatery, a look at the pressures faced by students who work long hours outside college, and the story of a Bucks professor who rebuilt her home after it was destroyed by Delaware River flooding.

The paper also swept the Sports Story category and took firsts for its website, Layout and Design and Diversity Reporting. The Keystone contest is administered by the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association. The Centurion competes in Division III, which includes two-year colleges from across the state.

This year’s competition for the first time featured a Sweepstakes Award given to colleges winning the most points in their respective divisions. The Centurion won the sweepstakes for Division III.

Here is the complete list of winners from the Centurion:

General News

First Place

Overturning of Roe v. Wade Leaves Many
Bucks County Women Feeling Betrayed 

Karolina Matyka

Second Place

A Chaotic Tradition: Pastor Aden Revisits
Bucks 

Skylar Woodford

Honorable Mention
Pennsylvania Election Results Debunk Red
Wave Narrative 

Grace Levy

Ongoing News Coverage

First Place
Bucks Builds Back Post‐Pandemic
Lucas Darling, James Bonnell, Judith
Russo, Colin Riccardi

Second Place
Election 2022
Grace Levy, Christian Grosso, Evan
Anderson, Jenna Lowenthal

Public Service/Enterprise Package 

First Place
Bucks builds back post‐pandemic

Lucas Darling, Timothy Hubing

Feature Story 

First Place
From Four Lanes to the Hotel: Inside the
Langhorne Borough’s Eatery 

James Bonnell

Second Place
Bucks Professor Rebuilds her Lambertville
Home After Worst Flash Flood in Town’s
History 

Hannah Boscola

Honorable Mention
Bucks Students Feel Pressures of Balancing
School and Work 

Hannah Boscola

Personality Profile

First Place
A Musical Journey in Allegro

Judith Russo

Honorable Mention
Sawdust, Skateboards and Passion: A Sloan
Palder Story 

James Bonnell

Sports Story 

First Place
Bucks Men’s Soccer Team Are ESAC
Champions 

Evan Anderson

Second Place
Phillies’ Cinderella Run Falls Short of
Storybook Ending

James Bonnell

Honorable Mention
Bucks Baseball Team Has Big Impact in
Small College World Series

Mason Gross

Column 

Second Place
New Policy Banning Over 400 Titles from
School Shelves Spikes Outrage in the
Community; White Mermaid? Black
Mermaid? It’s a Mermaid, People 

Timothy Hubing

Layout and Design 

First Place
Sawdust and Skateboards

Lucas Darling, Carmen Gisondi

Website 

First Place
Lucas Darling, Max Mower

Excellence in Reporting on Diversity, Equity and
Inclusion 

First Place
New Introduction to Queer Studies Course
at Bucks; Governor Tom Wolf Bans LGBTQ+
Conversion Therapy in Pennsylvania for
Minors; Disability Rights Advocate Haben
Girma: “The Biggest Barrier I Face is
Ableism”
Parker DeStefano, Grace Levy, Aileen
Gorman Leong, Hannah Boscola

Learn more about the awards at Bucks County Community College.