Wright Times News Takes Home Seven Reporting Awards at Annual ICCJA Contest

The Wright Times News, Wilbur Wright College’s independent student news media organization, received seven awards at the annual state-wide conference for Illinois’s two-year colleges, held Oct. 16 in Urbana-Champaign.

Among the honors were three awards for 2025-26 editor-in-chief Kyle Chmielowski, who took home third place honors for Reporter of the Year, Editorial Writer of the Year, and News Story of the Year. Chmielowski won third place for Reporter of the Year for his stories on Moises Bernal Puentes, the former Adult Education manager fired after comments at ICE protests; an overview of the goals of new Vice President of Student Affairs Melissa Champs; and a news story on the school’s new ID policy. His third place for Editorial Writer was awarded for his columns on Artistic Expression, Inclusive Storytelling, and his Welcome Letter encouraging student involvement. Chmielowski rounded out his awards with a third place for News Story of the Year for his ongoing coverage of the January 2026 pipe burst that flooded the first floor of the Learning Resource Center, among other wings on Wright’s campus.

Cartoonist Cinthya Galvan took home a fourth place (Honorable Mention) award for Graphics for her rendering of Mario and Luigi fixing the pipes, which accompanied Chmielowski’s breaking news stories.

Another Wright Times News cartoonist, Christian Ocana, also won an award – a second-place finish for Editorial Cartoon for his panel comic, “The Reader Reader” from the June 2026 newspaper.

Arts and Entertainment reporter Gabriella Valentin won Second Place for Arts Coverage for her review of Stage Wright’s Spring 2026 production, “The Diary of Anne Frank.”

Rounding out the Wright Times News’s awards was photographer Samuel Saavedra, who took home a fourth place (Honorable Mention) award for Sports Photography for capturing Rams basketball player Elijah Johnson’s jump shot over an opposing Triton player on Feb. 26.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our staff, whose work over the course of the last three semesters (the time period the contest covered) has shown the growth and persistence that are hallmarks of good college journalism,” said Faculty Adviser Adam Webster. “For them to get that recognition from a panel of outside judges, including professionals in the field and professors and advisers at four-year institutions, is a huge accomplishment.”

The Illinois Community College Journalism Association bestows the awards each year at its fall conference. This year’s conference was held at Parkland Community College in Champaign-Urbana.