"Western Slope Wildfires" photo, captured by recent graduate Enrique Quintero, wins national award
Colorado Mesa University's (CMU) student newspaper, The Criterion, wrapped up the Spring 2026 semester with a few new awards under its belt. On April 22, The Criterion staff was notified by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) that its team had won three awards in the Region 9 large school category (10,000+ students). It was announced on May 26 that one of the three projects was recognized on the national level.
The three regional award categories that The Criterion won or placed in included breaking news reporting, feature photography and general news photography.
“This accomplishment was one of the original goals that myself and The Criterion's Managing Editor, Dana Dial, set for our team at the beginning of the Fall 2025 semester. These awards are both a physical and symbolic representation of the work The Criterion team has put in over the last year to take a good paper and turn it into a great paper,” said Editor in Chief Julia Wildman.
The winning journalistic collection in the breaking news category was the coverage of a controversial speaker who came to campus and tested CMU’s dedication to maintaining free speech while also balancing its commitment to being a Human Scale University in reflection of its seven core values. Wildman wrote the four pieces that kept campus informed of updates during the weeks leading up to and following the event.
Recent graduate and Photo Editor for The Criterion, Teagan Meens and Vicente Valadez’s “Dazzling Dancers” photos were a finalist in the feature photography category. The images capture the lively blend of dancing and artful choreography showcased in the annual “Fall for Dance” show put on by CMU's Dance Program.
The final regional category that The Criterion won was general news photography. The image, which shows a fire bomber plane dropping fire retardant on the July 2025 Turner Gulch Fire, was taken by recent Aviation Technology graduate Enrique Quintero.
Since the photo was captured during the summer, it was not an assigned piece for the newspaper but rather included in a story written later in the semester, titled "Western Slope Wildfires". This image turned out to be a national contender and took home the SPJ 2025 Mark of Excellence award in the general news photography category.
When asked about the process of capturing the award-winning photo, Quintero highlighted one of the key elements of journalism: being in the right place at the right time with a camera in hand.
“I believe photography really helps convey the importance and emotion of an event through visual storytelling. I believe my photos help convey the sense of how massive the fire became, as I was a mile away from the fire,” he shared.
The Society of Professional Journalists is the nation’s most broad-based journalism organization, dedicated to encouraging the free practice of journalism and upholding high ethical standards. There are twelve regions across the United States. CMU’s chapter is in Region 9, which includes Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico. The Criterion’s efforts over the past year are an example of the high-quality journalism and prevalence of free speech present on campus. The staff is made up of a mix of majors, all of which bring unique perspectives to their roles and beats.
“While mostly unexpected, checking this off our goals list made sense because all of the other goals we achieved were building toward it. The Criterion has been the voice of the students for CMU since 1931. These are not the first awards we've won and they certainly won't be the last,” said Wildman.
Learn more about The Criterion.