Hilltop Yearbook took a first place win in the national Baptist Press “Excellence in Journalism” conference.

Honors were announced at the Oct. 15 awards ceremony concluding the fifth annual Baptist Press Collegiate Journalism Conference in Nashville, Tenn.

In addition to hearing from writers and photographers who are Christians working at some of the nation’s best-known publications – Washington Post, People magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, Christianity Today, Focus on the Family, among others – the students participated in skills-sharpening workshops and in an Intern Fair.

“The conference was outstanding,” said Senior Jessica Redding, one of five Corban students to attend the event with Karen Willoughby, student publications adviser. “I learned a lot, and met some wonderful people.”

Redding also made contacts that could lead to employment after her December graduation.

In addition to the first place win for graphic design, Corban received four “excellent” and one “outstanding” rankings for its yearbook. Hilltop News scored eight “excellent” and four “outstanding” rankings. Because Hilltop BigBoard is a unique publication among colleges across the nation, there is no place in the contest for it.

“This is a tough contest,” Willoughby said. “Nobody cuts us any slack because we’re half the size of any other school in the competition, and that’s what we like about it. This contest helps show us where and how we need to improve in order to be the best possible publications.”

The graphical appeal of Hilltop News, the broad scope of its coverage and the writing were strengths; photographs were a weakness in both the newspaper and yearbook, according to the contest score sheets, Willoughby said.

“Our goal is to be first with each of our publications,” the student publications adviser said. “Like everything else at Corban, Hilltop Weekly BigBoard, Hilltop News, Hilltop Online – which is coming soon! – and Hilltop Yearbook are gifts of our best work, dedicated to God.”

--By Adele Murphy