Kellogg Community College alumna Sarah Hubbard was recently awarded Third Place for Journalist of the Year by the Michigan Community College Press Association for her work as editor of the College’s online student newspaper, The Bruin News.
Hubbard, of Battle Creek, is a 2018 graduate of Harper Creek High School and 2020 graduate of KCC. She is currently a junior at Spring Arbor University majoring in social work with a goal of becoming a private counselor.
Hubbard published more than 50 articles for The Bruin News from her beginning as public editor (one of two editors at the time) in the fall of 2018 until her graduation, helping to lead The Bruin News into an online-only publication after more than 60 years in print. By the Spring 2019 semester she had risen to become sole editor of the publication, responsible for general publication oversight as well as the creation, posting and distribution of content over the publication’s website and several social media channels.
In his nomination of Hubbard for the award, Simon Thalmann, digital marketing manager at KCC and staff advisor to The Bruin News, said Hubbard kept the publication alive through the closure of the college in mid-March despite the uncertainties surrounding COVID-19 and limited support from a dwindling student staff.
“Hubbard covered a wide variety of topics during her tenure as editor of The Bruin News, from sports results to lunch menus to campus renovations, board meetings, student profiles, interviews with the College president and more,” Thalmann wrote. “Hubbard’s presence at The Bruin News has been sorely missed. Her leadership over the past few years and in the first half of the unprecedented challenges of 2020, in particular, have helped The Bruin News continue its tradition of storied excellence on campus and in the communities the College serves.”
In addition to her work for The Bruin News, Hubbard was actively engaged in the KCC community as a member of the College’s Alpha Nu Eta chapter of the international Phi Theta Kappa honor society and was involved in several Kampus Activies Board events on campus. She entered KCC as a recipient of the prestigious Board of Trustees Scholarship and graduated as a recipient of the KCC Foundation’s Robert F. Hites Family Scholarship, which recognizes outstanding academic and personal achievement among KCC graduates transferring to pursue a bachelor’s degree. She was also active in her community outside the College through the Battle Creek Friends Church, where she was a leader in the children’s and youth ministries.
Hubbard said recently that she believes her experience at KCC and the leadership role she had at The Bruin News set her up well to transfer and hold many leadership roles on campus at Spring Arbor, where she is currently involved in a number of campus clubs.
“I loved KCC and working for the Bruin News,” Hubbard said. “I am so grateful for my time there as it allowed me to save money and figure out what I wanted to do for the next two years of college. I had no idea what major or career I wanted to do when I started KCC, and came out with a clear vision of my educational and career path.”
As editor of The Bruin News, Hubbard said, she learned valuable lessons about deadlines, creativity, managing social media and writing. The position forced her to grow and “think outside the box” to writing interesting articles, she said.
“I cannot speak enough good things about KCC and my time at The Bruin News,” Hubbard said. “It was challenging, but it helped me to grow and be more independent, and set me up for real life.”
The MCCPA hosts an annual competition for community college journalists in Michigan every spring, offering awards across a variety of journalism-related categories with winners selected by judges with years of experience in the industry. The awards are announced annually during the organization’s annual spring conference, which is usually hosted onsite at Central Michigan University. This year’s competition was conducted virtually due to COVID-19.
The Bruin News can be read online at thebruinnews.kellogg.edu, and Hubbard’s articles are aggregated at thebruinnews.kellogg.edu/author/shubbard. A list of all 2021 MCCPA Award winners can be found at mccpa2021.weebly.com.
For more news about Kellogg Community College, view our latest press releases online at https://daily.kellogg.edu/category/news-releases.