The Arrow won 12 division-one state awards on Saturday at the Missouri College Media Association awards banquet at Lindenwood University in St. Charles.

Student media staff from all over Missouri gathered to participate in the conference, which included an assortment of professional workshops and was capped by an awards banquet.

Editor Kara Hartnett received the MCMA Journalist of the Year award, which she was nominated for by faculty adviser Tamara Zellars Buck.

Arrow faculty advisor Tamara Zellars Buck said Hartnett’s nomination was an easy decision to make.

“Kara’s work ethic as editor, coupled with her ability to build and inspire a cohesive staff, has been unparalleled,” Buck said. “It’s exhausting to see how much she puts into the Arrow at times, and I’m grateful that her passion and dedication has been recognized.”

The Arrow received four first-place awards, including a third straight top honor for campus engagement/promotions. This year’s win was for the Arrow’s shoeboxes of Caring project directed by marketing manager Sydney Rogers. The campaign was created to collect toys and necessities for children in the foster care system in Southeast Missouri. The Arrow also was awarded first for best multimedia package for the “Accounting for Assault” special section, best special section for their disability series “More Than” and best story illustration by design editor Taria Graham.

The Arrow also received three second-place finishes for best column, investigative reporting, and best special section or supplement. Third-place honors were for campus engagement, best feature page, and in-depth news reporting.

Rachael Long also received an honorable mention for her column “The Long Lens: Rich in Love.”

“The staff worked so hard to make all these awards happen for our 2017 submissions,” she said. “We’ve been working even harder in 2018 and I can’t wait to see what that brings us in the future.”

Department of Mass Media chair Pam Parry said the Arrow’s wins are an indicator of the quality of the combined classroom and experiential learning opportunities the Arrow provides.

“It speaks to the quality of instruction they receive in their classes, as well as the quality of advising they receive from their faculty and professional advisors,” Parry said. “Additionally, we think it is important to note that the staff of the student newspaper is not just comprised of multimedia journalism majors, but students from other options in our department and from across campus who help produce the paper.

“We are so very proud of them,” Parry said.