POINT LOOKOUT, MO. — The College of the Ozarks student newspaper, “The Outlook,” has been honored by the Society of Professional Journalists with four college journalism awards.

The awards are for “The Outlook” student journalists’ work in the fall semester of 2024.

Adam Roseberry ,junior, and Clay Steward, sophomore, both journalism majors, won first place in the category of “General News Reporting – Small Newspaper” for their stories covering an emergency management exercise at Silver Dollar City, organized by the Stone County Office of Emergency Management.

Adam Roseberry won first place in the category of “Personality Profile – Small Newspaper” for his story about the late World War II Veteran George Beden.

David Mazula, senior journalism major, was a finalist in the category of “General News Reporting – Small Newspaper” for his story about C of O’s work to eradicate the emerald ash borer that has been killing ash trees on campus.

Adam Roseberry was a finalist in the category of “Feature Writing – Small Newspaper” for his story about Major Mark Nutsch, a man who helped to defeat Al Qaeda after 9/11.

“I am exceptionally proud of Adam, Clay, David and all of the students who contributed to the reshaping of ‘The Outlook’ student newspaper last semester,” said Erin Hayes, professor (associate) of the practice of journalism and media and advisor for “The Outlook” student newspaper. “They brought their journalistic skills and dedication to the task for every story, and they truly earned these awards.”

The SPJ “Mark of Excellence” awards were presented by the Society of Professional Journalists of Region 7, which recognizes excellent work by college journalists in Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas.

First-place winners will compete at the national level among other Mark of Excellence (MOE) winners from the 12 SPJ regions. National winners will be notified in late spring.

MOE Awards entries are judged by professionals with at least three years of journalism experience. Judges were directed to choose entries they felt were among the best in student journalism.

School divisions are based on student enrollment, including both graduate and undergraduate: Large schools have at least 10,000 students and small schools have 9,999 or fewer students.