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The Planet, Western Washington University’s student-produced environmental magazine, won six regional awards from the Society of Professional Journalists’ Mark of Excellence competition, including Best Ongoing Student Magazine. Four of The Planet’s entries placed first and will be moving on to the national SPJ award competition, two others finished in the top three.

“I have always known that what we do at The Planet is important,” Editor-In-Chief Julia Hawkins, a Journalism—News Editorial major from Mill Creek, said. “These awards cemented for me that other people see the work we are doing and how valuable it is.”

Jeff Shaw, a journalism instructor at ��������, began serving as adviser to The Planet last fall. From the start, Shaw knew he wanted to highlight the high-quality work the students were producing.

“I knew mid-way through the term that we would have award-winning content, but a lot of times students don’t feel like they can compete,” Shaw said. “They are so focused on putting out their best work that they don’t necessarily think of getting the recognition they deserve."

In addition to the Best Ongoing Student Magazine award, The Planet’s staff received five individual awards for work completed in their fall 2024 Uncharted issue: 

• First Place - Phoebe Clark, for "Kelp Needs Your Help:" Environment/Science/Climate Reporting
• First Place - Eleanor Geraghty, for "Losing Steam:" Campus Reporting
• First Place - Josh Maritz, for "Oh, Deer: Chronic Wasting Disease Comes to Washington:" General News Reporting
• Top three - Soren Cooley, for "No Goats, No Glory:" General News Photography
• Top three - India Rahmani, for "Himalayan Blackberry:" Best Podcast, Narrative

A first-place finish in any category put The Planet in contention for a national SPJ Mark of Excellence award.

Hawkins attributes The Planet’s success to their hardworking staff and the continuous encouragement Shaw has offered the team.

“He has really seen our full potential and has made it more clear to me that we can reach way further goals than I thought we could,” Hawkins said.

With The Planet’s enrollment doubling from past quarters, they are excited to capitalize on this momentum.

“As a team, I think we want to build on this success,” Shaw said. “There is a buzz I haven’t experienced before; the energy is higher than ever.”