Lipscomb student wins national journalism award
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A Lipscomb University student has been named as a winner in the Scripps Howard Foundation’s National Journalism Awards for 2003. Nathaniel R. Creekmore won the College Cartooning category for his comic strip, “Maintaining,” which offers commentary on everyday campus life and is published in Lipscomb’s student newspaper, The Babbler. Creekmore, a junior graphic design major from Valdosta, Ga., will receive $5,000 and the Charles M. Schulz Award, according to a Scripps-Howard press release. “Nathaniel Creekmore’s comic strip is the most polished work by a college cartoonist that we’ve seen in many years. His characters are fully developed, his dialogue is well written, and his art is sophisticated. He is a promising young cartoonist,” judges said. Creekmore’s work was chosen from among finalists from the University of Washington, Seattle; California Institute for the Arts, Valencia; and Canisius College, Buffalo, N.Y. "When I was informed that I had been chosen as the recipient of the Charles M. Schulz Award, the emotion that I felt was utter elation," Creekmore said. "After all, it is a national award with a certain amount of prestige attached to it. More than anything, I hope this award will open a door or two for me. "It has always been my desire to be a nationally syndicated cartoonist. Becoming a cartoonist, at that level, is not an easy task. The difficulty of acquiring this position is exceeded only by the difficulty of maintaining said position. I understand that this will be a challenging goal to attain, but it is a goal that I plan on pursuing," Creekmore said. The National Journalism Awards, which are open to all U.S. news organizations and college journalism educators, recognize excellence in 19 categories, including editorial writing, human interest writing, environmental and public service reporting, business/economics reporting, commentary, photojournalism, radio and television journalism, college cartooning, Web reporting and editorial cartooning. The awards will be presented April 23 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The Scripps Howard Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the E.W. Scripps Company.