Lamar University student media earned 16 honors at the 2025 Press Club of Southeast Texas Excellence in Media awards at the organization’s annual Newsmaker of the Year banquet, June 13. The University Press earned three first-place awards for work published in 2024.
“There are no student categories at the Press Club awards so it is a great way for the students to see how they compare to area professionals,” Andy Coughlan, LU director of student publications, said. “To see the students perform well validates the work we do. And when you ad in the high number of former University Press and LUTV staffers who are now working and winning awards in local media it just shows value of working in college media.”
The University Press staff won first place in Best News Website category for the second consecutive year.
Outgoing editor Maddie Simms earned first place in the Fine Arts Review category for her piece on Southeast Texas Stages’ production of “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.” Sims also won the Magazine Personal Profile category for her story on Gator Country intern Charles Holder.
Sims placed second for Page Layout. Outgoing sports editor Brian Quijada earned second place in the Magazine Feature category for his coverage of Beaumont’s Mural Fest.
LUTV staffer Stephanie Adeniji placed second in the Internet News Video category and LUTV’s Isaac Duerksen and Tre Sanchez placed second in the Documentary category.
Third place winners include UP photo editor Carlos Viloria for Photo Portfolio, UP staffer Luis Lemmen for Investigative Reports, and Quijada for Sports News Story.
LUTV’s Tommy Byers placed third in the Internet News Video category and Sanchez placed third for TV Sports Story.
Honorable mentions went to Quijada in the Photo Portfolio category and Sims in the Magazine Personal Profile category.
LUTV earned honorable mention for Best Newscast, and LUTV’s Mitchell Caldwell placed in the Documentary category.
A total of 559 entries were received for this year's contest which featured 79 individual categories across all media, including newspapers, television, public relations, online, magazine and others.
The Press Club awards raise money for scholarships for students in the communication and media fields at Lamar University. This year, for the first time, the Press Club awarded two scholarships to Rayna Christy and to Kami Greene. Christy will be University Press editor-in-chief in the fall and Greene will be managing editor.
“I'm so thankful the Southeast Texas Press Club has chosen to invest in my studies and future in journalism,” Christy said. “I am excited to make the most of their investment and continue my work in this field.”
Greene said she originally planned to be an accounting major but is happy she found communications.
“Receiving this scholarship solidifies that working in the media is where I need to be,” she said.
The High School scholarship was awarded to Sabine Pass High School’s Donald Fowler. He plans to attend LU in the fall.
The 2024 Newsmaker of the Year was awarded to the husband-and-wife detective duo of Beaumont Police officers Aaron and Tina Lewallen who helped local investigators crack the decades-old case of Mary Catherine Edwards, a beloved Beaumont teacher, who was murdered back in 1995. Using genetic genealogy, the Lewallens helped Beaumont Police track down Clayton Foreman, who has since been convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison.
The Press Club draws its membership from Jefferson, Orange, Hardin, Liberty, Chambers, Jasper, Tyler, Polk and Newton counties. Press Club members are professionals in media, public relations, academia, public affairs, and corporate communication and public information.
For a full list of winners, visit pressclubofsoutheasttexas.org.