UCO Students, The Vista Win Awards in Statewide Newspaper Contest
July 1, 2025
Four University of Central Oklahoma student journalists and The Vista, UCO’s student-run newspaper, took home 10 awards at the Oklahoma Press Association’s (OPA) Better Newspaper Contest ceremony.
The students, part of The Vista staff, and the newspaper competed in the College News Media Division against nine other Oklahoma universities, earning four first-place, three second-place and three third-place awards for content published Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 2024.
UCO’s winning entries include:
First place
- Feature Story: Sam Kozlowski, a professional media recent graduate from Edmond, Oklahoma, “108-year-old Guthrie resident recounts her time as a UCO student in the 1930s”
- Education Story: Kozlowski, “Edmond Public Schools ask OK Supreme Court for guidance on book complaints”
- Feature Photograph: Victor Lopez, a sophomore photographic art major from Tulsa, Oklahoma, “Kaleb Gonzalez, black suit, finishes the last scene”
- Photo Essay/Picture Page: Lopez, “Rayce Phillips: A day in the life”
Second place
- Sports Coverage: The Vista staff
- Feature Photograph: Lopez, “Artist displays work at Edmond Arts Festival”
- Sports Photograph: Lopez, “Defensive back Dame Marshall celebrates a tackle”
Third place
- Business Story: Valerie Scott, a senior professional media major from Choctaw, Oklahoma, “Edmond company creates plant-based alternative to plastic”
- Column Writing: Bradie Gray, a professional media recent graduate from Kremlin, Oklahoma, “The Gray Area: UCO deserves more respect, but do they want it?; With a historic offense, can the defense keep up?; Coach’s guide to dodging a bullet”
- Feature Photograph: Lopez, “Waka Flocka Flame gets on the barrier and interacts”
“Winning across categories at the OPA awards is a meaningful accomplishment for the students, The Vista and the UCO Department of Mass Communication,” said Erika Williams, instructor of mass communication at UCO and faculty advisor for The Vista.
“The students worked extremely hard last year to put out quality coverage and it’s nice to see that hard work rewarded at the state level.”
For more information about The Vista, contact Williams at ewilliams43@uco.edu.
For more information about UCO’s mass communication program, visit go.uco.edu/mass-comm.
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Cutline: Four University of Central Oklahoma student journalists and The Vista, UCO’s student-run newspaper, took home 10 awards from the Oklahoma Press Association’s 2024 Better Newspaper Contest ceremony. Pictured, left to right, Valerie Scott, a senior majoring in professional media from Choctaw, Oklahoma; Victor Lopez, a sophomore majoring in photographic arts from Tulsa, Oklahoma; Jake Ramsey, The Vista editor in 2024 and a professional media recent graduate.
