Article by Owl Media Staff
From left to right: Alanna Hutton, Brooklynn Brown, Kalise Huber, Tacy Brown, Colin Lowry, Javier Benjamin, Ann Mervin, Eleni Fotis, Claudia Brown.
Owl Media, the student multimedia publication of Harford Community College, brought back five national awards from the 2025-2026 Apple Awards sponsored by the College Media Association. Owl Media earned second place in three categories, third in one category, and one honorable mention.
Since this was the last year that the College Media Association will hold a conference in New York City, this was also the final year for the Apple Awards.
Owl Media earned second place in three categories, third in one category, and one honorable mention.
Javier Benjamin and Collin Lowry celebrate after Javier’s article wins 2nd for Best Opinion Column.
Only three years after transitioning from a printed magazine to an online platform, Owl Media earned a third award in the category, placing second for Best Feature Website. (https://owlmedia.org/)
Nneka Iweanya, Tacy Brown, and Eleni Fotis won second place in Best Multimedia Package (Two-Year) for their multimedia package on “Drawing the Line: Students React to Extremist Group on Campus.” (https://owlmedia.org/2025/12/16/drawing-the-line-students-react-to-extremist-group-on-campus/)
Since this was the last year that the College Media Association will hold a conference in New York City, this was also the final year for the Apple Awards.
Javier Benjamin won second place in Best Opinion Column (Two-Year) for his article “From Problematic to Unlimited Potential: My Life With Autism.” (https://owlmedia.org/2025/11/24/from-problematic-to-unlimited-potential-my-life-with-autism/)
Eleni Fotis and Tacy Brown won third place in Best Social Media Coverage of a Single Event (Two-Year, Division III) for “Harford Mall ICE Protest.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xr2mDKktgBM)
Luke Teigue won an honorable mention in Best Feature Photography (Two-Year) for “Life Through the Lens: Capturing the Essence of a Day in Manhattan.” (https://owlmedia.org/2025/03/18/life-through-the-lens-capturing-the-essence-of-a-day-in-manhattan/)
Before the Apple Awards, members of Owl Media got to participate in a website critique from Michael Koretzky, a professional journalist who has been critiquing the publication since 2010.
The 2025-2026 student staff included Tacy Brown, Eleni Fotis, Alanna Hutton, Nneka Iweanya, Luke Tiegue, Brooklynn Brown, Ann Mervin, Javier Benjamin, Colin Lowry, Mackenzie Cooney, Samuel DeMelo, Hannah Henson, Yvette Seth, Tokoni Kamsiyochi Angol, Derek Roy, Brieanna Kozlowski, Gabriel Bassford, Josh Brethauer, Owen Swain, and Kalise Huber. Claudia Brown acted as Chief Adviser while Brendan Flanagan was the Technical Adviser. Additional mentoring and student support was provided by Faras Aamir and John Morin.
Owl Media released print magazines from 2011-2020, has been publishing videos on YouTube and Facebook since 2014, and launched a website in late 2022. The publication has won 73 national awards since 2012.
Readers can follow the nationally award-winning publication on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, as well as the website, owlmedia.org.
Credit options, work study, and paid positions are available for students interested in joining the staff. Email harfowl@harford.edu or reach out via social media for more information.