Nebraska Press Women celebrated their 80th Year as an organization with a conference at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL)’s College of Journalism and Mass Communication (CoJMC) and their annual high school communication contest. The 2026 contest involved 21 schools, 508 entries in 23 categories. Each first place award winner was moved on the National Press Women level contest. Awards for that contest will be announced May 13 and awarded near Baltimore in September 2026.

1st Place Awards
• Katherine Dietz, Eleanor Thibodeau & Izumi Huang Fujiwara – Newspaper Layout (2 page spread) – “Going Analog in 2026”
• Izumi Huang Fujiwara – Graphics/Photo Illustration – “Nebraska Food Insecurities”
• Lauren Hicks – Sports Story – “Athletes utilize NSAA transfer portal”
• Syra Qureshi – News/Feature Photo – “High in the Sky”
• Kate Efaw – Video News Story – “Government Shutdown”

3rd Place Awards
• Madeline Iske – Video Feature Story – “Tarantula Ghoul”
• Victoria Simet – Video Sports Story – “Golf Season Recap”

Honorable Mention
• Kelsey Bragg, Sophia Shillcutt, Kate Efaw, Emefa Aclinou, Presley Vorland, Kelsey Rudloff – Best Newscast – Jan. 28 2026 M-Beat
• Bristol Povondra, Victoria Simet, Kassidy Brown, Kate Markus, Kelsey Bragg, Kate Efaw, Sophia Shillcutt – Best Newscast – Oct. 2, 2025 M-Beat
• Hannah Taylor – Cartooning – “How to Build a Boyfriend”
• Erin Cramer – Opinion Writing – “The anti-social network replaces connection”
• Anna Kubat – Single-Page Layout – “Oct. Page 11”
• Maeve Wharton – Sports Photo – “State Cross Country”
• Aliyah Williams – Video Feature Story – “Behind the Scenes of Cinderella”

These individual awards brought Marian the 2026 2nd Place Sweepstakes Award from the Nebraska Press Women. This recognition came with a plaque and a check. First place in the sweepstakes went to Lincoln Southeast’s journalism program and third place went to Elkhorn North. Those in attendance at the awards luncheon had an opportunity to participate in a conference with presentations by:

Matt Waite, Pulitzer Prize winner in national reporting, principal developer of PolitiFact, current UNL CoJMC faculty member. His session was titled: “AI is Here: Use it Purposefully.”

Chris Graves, Pulitzer Prize winner for local reporting at the Cincinnati Enquirer, current UNL CoJMC faculty member. Her session was titled: “Local News: More Important Now Than Ever.”

Ruth Brown (UNL CoJMC professor emerita) and Valerine Jones (UNL CoJMC interim associate dean). Their session was titled: “Change Happens: One family’s experiences reflect the industry.”

Jackie Ourada (Nebraska Public Media), Andrew Wegley (Flatwater Free Press) and Zach Wendling (Nebraska Examiner). Their panel discussion was titled: “Tomorrow’s News: Voices from Young Journalists.”

Adviser Mrs. Marsha Kalkowski, Izumi Huang Fujiwara, Syra Qureshi, Lauren Hicks celebrate a 2nd Place Sweepstakes Award at the Nebraska Press Women Spring 2026 Conference and High School Journalism Contest. Photo by Mrs. Jennifer Hicks.