THE JHM AWARD WINNERS
The John H. MacDonald Awards for Excellence in Student Journalism recognizes the best in Canadian student journalism.
2026 JHM Shortlist
Arts and Culture Award
WINNERS
GOLD: Scaring Frogs, Saving Culture by Alex Lambert (Working Draft Magazine)
SILVER: Queen’s alum Omar El Akkad confronts Western indifference of humanitarian crises in Gaza by Eva Sheahan (The Queen's Journal)
BRONZE: Symbolic Womanhood in Emilia Pérez by Willow Latella (Arthur Newspaper)
SHORTLISTED
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What puts the power in Power Hour? by Ellie Garry-Jones (The Dalhousie Gazette)
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Dancing bare under the Blue Light by Mikaila Kimball (The Western Gazette)
Award for Outstanding Website Design
Humour Writing Award
WINNERS
GOLD: Five completely serious candidates for UVic’s new president by Nick Czerwonka (The Martlet)
SILVER: ‘Western Pisser’ makes splash on campus by Hannah Alper and Paniz Vedavarz (The Western Gazette)
BRONZE: How I, a man, am doing my part to uplift women during Women’s History Month by Hailey Ford (The Eyeopener)
SHORTLISTED
Investigative Reporting Award
Note: The >$100,000 and <$100,000 categories were combined due to submissions volumes.
WINNERS
GOLD: Alleged sexual misconduct in a CUSA-certified club: Review process remains unclear by Kyra Vellinga (The Charlatan)
SILVER: Procurement rules bypassed in $25k washroom renovation for NAIT President by Joshua Gwozdz, Alleah Boisvert and Amy St. Amand (NAIT Nugget)
BRONZE: Trinity students win fight to restore gowns by Devin Botar (The Varsity)
Marginalized Community Reporting Award
WINNERS
GOLD: The 25th Hour: Is Carleton one of Canada’s most accessible campuses? by Martin Halek, Caelan Monkman and Zenith Wolfe (Capital Current)
SILVER: Opening the Black Box by Lulu Calame and Sahel Delafoulhouse (The Tribune)
BRONZE: A call for more campus awareness about the Kirpan by Milan Lukes (The Manitoban)
SHORTLISTED
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Passing by Guntas Kaur, Isabella Ma and Sidney Shaw (The Ubyssey)
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‘The biggest keyword is hope’: The expanding futures of Syrian students by Rowan Flood (The Eyeopener)
French Language Reporting Award
WINNERS
GOLD: Valorisation du français : où en est Concordia? by Félix-Antoine Beauchemin and Clément Lechat (The Concordian)
SILVER: Les femmes libanaises, une force pour la paix by Félix Laliberté (The Concordian)
Science Reporting Award
WINNERS
GOLD: Is microdosing psychedelics the secret to better mental health — or is it just placebo? by Bianca McKeown and Simona Milutinovic (The Charlatan)
SILVER: Inside: Western’s Glass Blowing Studio by Arieh Leving and Om Shanbhag (The Western Gazette)
BRONZE: First Nations and UVic researchers convene to raise their voices about local herring fishery by Scott Van Haren (The Martlet)
SHORTLISTED
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The detriments of Bill 83 by Kara Brulotte (The Link)
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Crash, bleed, repeat: Healthcare students rehearse for real life by Blair Garneau (NAIT Nugget)
Cover/Layout of the Year
WINNERS
GOLD: Frosh issue by Tiffany Cheng (The Western Gazette)
SILVER: A Swift Shift by Sammy Kogan, Nageen Riaz and Saif Ullah-Khan (The Eyeopener)
BRONZE: B.C. is burning by Sarah Nelson (The Runner)
SHORTLISTED
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Summer cocktails according to your horoscope by Sherryl Agingu (The Cascade)
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Portage & Main by Emma Gillich and Deveney Jarrow (The Manitoban)
Video of the Year
WINNERS
GOLD: How do U of T Students Really Feel About Their Courses? by Genevieve Sugrue (The Varsity)
SILVER: Tuition Hikes Aftermath by Benjamin Nossik (The Link)
BRONZE: Dodgeball Tournament Celebrates Accessibility and Community by Zulkifl Rafah and Max Reid (The Manitoban)
SHORTLISTED
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Op-Ed: Banning books bans learning by Arieh Leving (The Western Gazette)
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The power of drag by Elena Massing and Fiona Sjaus (The Ubyssey)
Student Journalist of the Year, Written
WINNERS
GOLD: Marieke Glorieux-Stryckman (The Concordian)
SILVER: Aisha Chaudhry (The Ubyssey)
BRONZE: Meghrig Milkon (The Queen's Journal)
Student Publication of the Year
Community Service Reporting Award
WINNERS
GOLD: Continued coverage of Carleton University’s deficit by Maia Tustonic, Cassandra Bellefeuille, Michael McBean, Douaa Qadadia and Alexa MacKie (The Charlatan)
SILVER: As Lapu Lapu Day tragedy vigil is held on campus, mourners look to systemic change for healing by Spencer Izen and Lauren Kasowski (The Ubyssey)
BRONZE: Quebec committee recommends extending the ban on religious symbols to subsidized daycare educators by Angélique Babineau (The Concordian)
SHORTLISTED
Feature Writing Award
WINNERS
GOLD: How artificial is our love? by Amanda Erickson (the Griff)
SILVER: Beagles: Research subjects or man’s best friends? by Vasoula Ioannidis (The Western Gazette)
BRONZE: B.C. is burning: How community and faith-led efforts aid wildfire mitigation in the province by Nyamat Singh (The Runner)
SHORTLISTED
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This refugee has a Carleton lab job lined up. Here’s why her future in Canada is still in limbo by Abyssinia Abebe (The Charlatan)
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Just a drunk cigarette? The nouveau smoking epidemic by Ellie Garry-Jones (The Dalhousie Gazette)
Indigenous Reporting Award
WINNERS
GOLD: Pushing Through Prejudice by Josh Lakatos (Working Draft Magazine)
SILVER: Mohawk Mothers accuse McGill of concealing new evidence of human remains at the New Vic site by Yusur Al-Sharqi (The Tribune)
BRONZE: Not a Land Defender, a Xwémalhkwu youth by Anonda Canadien (Capilano Courier)
SHORTLISTED
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Carleton turns to Indigenous communities to shape identity verification policies, preventing fraud by Marissa Meilleur and Michael McBean (The Charlatan)
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The Native Youth Program asks Indigenous teens to tell their own stories by Julian Coyle Forst (The Ubyssey)
Labour Reporting Award
WINNERS
GOLD: Hardly working: Inside the youth unemployment crisis at TMU by Daniyah Yaqoob (The Eyeopener)
SILVER: ‘Is this truly the right thing to do?’: The KFA pushes back on layoff notices KPU issued to 70 faculty members by Nyamat Singh and Hope Lompe (The Runner)
BRONZE: Dalhousie faculty rejects the university’s contract offer, prolonging lockout by Jenna Olsen (The Dalhousie Gazette)
SHORTLISTED
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BREAKING: ‘I see this as an act of resistance’: former Arts faculty dean files $2 million lawsuit against TMU by Shumaila Mubarak, Vihaan Bhatnagar and Damola Omole (The Eyeopener)
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Layoffs: what’s happened so far and what’s to come by Angela Li (The Imprint)
News Reporting Award
WINNERS
GOLD: Peterborough Opens New Temporary Shelter as it Evicts McDonnel Encampment by Louanne Morin (Arthur Newspaper)
SILVER: Continued coverage of Carleton University's free speech policy (1, 2) by Marissa Meilleur, Maia Tustonic and Michael McBean (The Charlatan)
BRONZE: Student homes see spike in break-ins over winter break by Mabel Zhao (The Western Gazette)
SHORTLISTED
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Western considers for-profit partnership to teach first-year international students by Gabriella McKenna and Mabel Zhao (The Western Gazette)
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“Inexcusable and Wrong”: Trent Students Respond to Racial Slur Used by Peterborough Mayor in Business Lecture by Evan Robins (Arthur Newspaper)
Opinion Writing Award
WINNERS
GOLD: Smoking my life away by Sanjiyven Alfred Joseph (NAIT Nugget)
SILVER: Breaking the Silence by Silas Busby (The Strand)
BRONZE: Opinion: Silent by Omar Bseiso (The Ubyssey)
Sports Reporting Award
WINNERS
GOLD: Breaking the Ice by Brielle Campbell (Working Draft Magazine)
SILVER: Warriors: A Playoff Pursuit by Paul Sherk and Shiwunan Cheng (The Imprint)
BRONZE: A Chance to Dream by Sofia Peralta-Baron (Working Draft Magazine)
SHORTLISTED
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Through the eyes of the Griffin: 54 years and counting by Ian Smyth and Evan Watt (the Griff)
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Strength through sumo by Matthew Daldalian (The Link)
Visual of the Year
WINNERS
GOLD: Redefining human value by Chloe Weston (The Varsity)
SILVER: History, identity, and community: The significance of Black hair by Kellyann Marie (The Queen’s Journal)
BRONZE: The beauty of football in the snow Tiffany Cheng (The Western Gazette)
SHORTLISTED
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Forgotten Stories of the Bunkhouse by Meharveen Manchanda (Capilano Courier)
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Evil Kim Brooks by Zoe Shmenko (The Dalhousie Gazette)
Photo of the Year
WINNERS
GOLD: Ethan Rocha in the air by Simon McKeown (The Charlatan)
SILVER: Men’s soccer scores in rainy quarterfinal match by Sidney Shaw (The Ubyssey)
BRONZE: Protesters at McGill Board of Directors by Aidan Raynor (The Concordian)
SHORTLISTED
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Pierre Poilievre in London by Kai Wilson (The Western Gazette)
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Honouring Mother Earth by Ava Whelpley (The Eyeopener)
Student Journalist of the Year, Multimedia
WINNERS
GOLD: Rae Dawson (The Martlet)
SILVER: Veronica Miranda (The Western Gazette)
BRONZE: Zach Dafoe (the Griff)
Special thanks to our judges: Aisling Murphy, Arshy Mann, Bruce Arthur, Cara McKenna, Cliff Lee, Dave Parkinson, Dhriti Gupta, Erin Valois, Ethan Lou, Evan Annett, Isabella Falsetti, Janson Duench, Jorge Barrera, Joshua Chang, Joshua Chong, Khushy Vashisht, Koby Michaels, Laura Godfrey, Louna Marchet, Lucas Kavanaugh, Mackenzie Lad, Mark Ramzy, Morgan Sevareid-Bocknek, Nathan Bawaan, Nawa Tahir, Rosa Saba, Sam Smart, Sammy Kogan, Sarah Kirchel, Savannah Ridley, Scott Colby, Spencer Colby, Tom Cardoso, Vanmala Subramaniam, Zak Vescera and Zane Schwartz.
Past JHM Winners
2025 JHM Shortlist
Arts & Culture Writing Award
WINNER
"Through the eyes of Treasure Fatile’s girls," The Varsity’s Divine Angubua
SHORTLISTED
"Sparkles, skates and seduction: Joy Rider and Kozmic Skater reimagine queer love stories through roller-burlesque," The Link’s Lana Brady
"Not your average frat: Kappa Alpha is redefining fraternity culture," The Western Gazette’s Paniz Vedavarz
Community Service Reporting Award
WINNER
"Twenty-four hours at the Palestinian solidarity encampment," by The Ubyssey's Iman Janmohamed, Spencer Izen, Aisha Chaudhry, Nathan Bawaan, Renée Rochefort and Elena Massing
"Following the 'People's Circle for Palestine'," by The Varsity's Eleanor Yuneun Park, James Bullanoff, Selia Sanchez and Kyla Cassandra Cortez
SHORTLISTED
"Secularism in action," by The Link's Hannah Vogan
Digital Storytelling Award
WINNER
"See how your 2023 USC councillors voted on Greek Life special privileges," by The Western Gazette's Jessica Kim and Sonia Persaud
SHORTLISTED
"Commuting to Campus," by The Capilano Courier's Christien Anastacio, Jordan Tomlinson and Kiki Evans
"A Brief History of the Palestinian Kuffiyeh," by The Link's Lilia Bachraoui
Feature Writing Award
WINNER
“Behind the screens: What 650 syllabi show about Western’s ChatGPT response,” The Western Gazette’s Sonia Persaud
SHORTLISTED
“We went to Cleantech Commons so you don’t have to,” Arthur’s Sebastian Johnston-Lindsay, Abbigale Kernya and Evan Robins
“To degree or not to degree,” the Griff’s Liam Newbigging
Humour Writing Award
WINNER
"President Lachemi spotted minding his own business," by The Eyeopener's Fatima Raza
SHORTLISTED
"An eco-anxious forecast for Lover Girl Fall," by The Varsity's Divine Angubua
"TOMATO: Weed coming to convenience stores in April," by The Fulcrum's Andrew Wilimek
Indigenous Reporting Award
WINNER
"MacEwan’s Treaty 6 marker, Mother Bear Prays for Earth Healing, reminds us we are all treaty people," by the Griff's Rebecca-Lynn Reeves
SHORTLISTED
"The buried history of U of T’s anthropological excavations," by The Varsity's Caroline Bellamy
"Going beyond land acknowledgements," by The Concordian's Marieke Glorieux-Stryckman
Investigative Reporting Award
WINNER
“Residence staff began requesting naloxone training in 2022. It took the death of a student for UVic to listen,” The Martlet’s Annilea Purser, Melody Powers and Sydney Lobe
SHORTLISTED
“The hazing incident that erased a prestigious Queen’s Commerce club,” The Queen’s Journal’s Aimee Look, Asbah Ahmad and Sophia Coppolino
“How transparent is Concordia?,” The Concordian’s Aidan Raynor and Marieke Glorieux-Stryckman
CWA Labour Reporting Award
WINNER
"Building stronger together: The people behind CUPE 2278," by The Ubyssey's Renée Rochefort
SHORTLISTED
"The young and the organized," by The Eyeopener's Edward Lander and Hailey Ford
"TA union strikes, profs confused as exams begin," by The Western Gazette's Veronica MacLean and Sophie Bouquillon
Marginalized Community Reporting Award
WINNER
“Inside Canada’s trans healthcare maze,” The Eyeopener’s Jay Ashdown
SHORTLISTED
“Beyond the blueprint: Bridging the gender gap in Western Engineering,” The Western Gazette’s Sonia Persaud
“Comm-Un: the Montreal co-op handcrafting solidarity,” The Link’s Hannah Vogan and Dana Hachwa
News Reporting Award
WINNER
“Hall building altercation: Students share their perspectives,” The Link’s Maria Cholakova, Iness Rifay and Abby Cole
SHORTLISTED
“'Disclose, divest': Students camp out at King’s College Circle demanding that U of T cut ties with Israel,” The Varsity’s James Bullanoff
“Students protest secrecy over cuts to Queen’s Arts and Science outside town hall,” The Queen’s Journal’s Sophia Coppolino
Opinion Writing Award
WINNER
“Opinion: Mining Company Teck's “Copper and Health” project at UBC isn't as clean as it looks,” The Ubyssey’s Tova Gaster
SHORTLISTED
“Opinion: U of T’s academic tribunal is rigged,” by The Varsity’s Devin Botar
“Editorial: Encampment protesters are not the issue — U of T’s policies and protocols are,” The Varsity’s Editorial Board
Science Reporting Award
WINNER
"Gut Feelings: Canada has one of the highest rates of IBD in the world. Why?," The Ubyssey’s Sophia Russo
SHORTLISTED
"Rising use of deepfakes threatens online sex workers," by The Link's Matthew Daldalian
"Poutine, Sora, and the Future of AI-Generated Video," by The Link's Dana Hachwa, Marcus Werner, and AJ Cordeiro
Sports Reporting Award
WINNER
"Saunas, ice baths and basketball: Carleton star Kali Pocrnic pivots to Finland," by The Charlatan's Janson Duench
SHORTLISTED
"How a Western PhD student made a place for women in football," by The Western Gazette's Ryan Goodison
"Montreal leading the way in Canadian skateboarding," by The Link's Jared Lackman-Mincoff
Cover of the Year
WINNER
"The sex & gender issue," by The Martlet's Sage Blackwell
SHORTLISTED
"March madness at the mac," by The Eyeopener's Sammy Kogan
"Fall of blueberry bloom," The Runner's Christina Tran
Visual of the Year
WINNER
"Quiet on Set sheds light on what child actors face in the industry,” by The Runner's Christina Tran
SHORTLISTED
"Thrifting culture," The Concordian's Scott Cowan
"Silent Mourners Caught in the Crossfire of Identity and Politics," by The Concordian's Alexandra Nackley
Photo of the Year
WINNER
“Toronto Protestors Rally in Solidarity with Lebanon and Palestine,” by On the Record News' Laviza
SHORTLISTED
"Oct. 7," by The Concordian's Hannah Bell
“Spokesperson Sara Rasikh speaks in press conference,” by The Varsity's Kaisa KasekampSyed
The Globe and Mail Student Journalist of the Year Award
WINNER
Sophia Coppolino, The Queen's Journal
SHORTLISTED
Jessica Kim, The Western Gazette
Evan Robins, Arthur Newspaper
Student Photojournalist of the Year
WINNER
Sammy Kogan, The Eyeopener
SHORTLISTED
Sophie Bouquillon, The Western Gazette
Kai Wilson, The Western Gazette
Isa S. You, The Ubyssey
Student Publication of the Year
WINNER
SHORTLISTED
2024 JHM Shortlist
Arts & Culture Writing Award
Y-Dang Troeung’s memoir Landbridge reflects on refugee existence and familial love
Elena Massing — The Ubyssey
Humour/Satire Award
New UBC policy waives course pre-reqs if you have a crush in the class
Tova Gaster — The Ubyssey
Marginalized Community Reporting Award
Ava Gili — Mars' Hill
Feature Writing Award
Miles Bolton — The Western Gazette
Investigative Reporting Award
Alleged hazing within a Carleton University Greek letter sorority
Faith Greco and Elissa Mendes — The Charlatan
The CWA Labour Reporting Award
CUPE3902’s fight for health coverage
Alice Boyle — The Varsity
News Reporting Award
Queen’s engineering exam question tweeted by Jordan Peterson
Sophia Coppolino and Sofia Tosello — The Queen's Journal
Op-Ed Award
It happened. What are we going to do about it?
Imprint Staff — Imprint
Sports Reporting Award
Pressure point: how performance anxiety affects student athletes
Miles Bolton — The Western Gazette
Indigenous Reporting Award
Northern Perspectives: The Agreement that Changed It All
Cedric Gallant — The Concordian
Science Reporting Award
ORCASat: How UVic students took an idea from campus to space
Hannah Seaton — The Martlet
Cover/Layout of the Year
Angelica Blanch — Capilano Courier
Graphic/Illustration of the Year
Keven Vaillancourt — The Concordian
Photo of the Year
Isabella Maggiore — The Ubyssey
Best Online Media Presence
Trent University, Peterborough, ON
Student Journalist of the Year
Zachary Fortier
The Link — Concordia University, Montreal, QC
Student Photojournalist of the Year
Joesph Mariathasan
The Queen's Journal — Queen's University, Kingston, ON
Student Publication of the Year
The Griff and the Western Gazette
