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Awards

Emma Carter Wins Student Media’s inaugural Phillips Award

Fourth-year designer's work spans multiple print publications

Emma Carter receives the Phillips Award from Dean Phillips, the namesake of the award
Emma Carter receives the Phillips Award from Dean Phillips, the namesake of the award

Emma Carter, a fourth-year student studying graphic design and English, was awarded the inaugural Dean Phillips Award for General Excellence on April 19.

Named for a long-time NC State Student Media Board of Directors member, the Phillips Award is open to all Student Media students except its senior leaders, who as part of the board vote on the eventual winner. Nine students were nominated by their peers for the award in this first year.

Carter has held several roles within NC State Student Media since joining the staff in fall 2019, including graphic designer for the Student Media Business and Marketing Office and design editor for the Windhover literary and visual arts magazine. She also worked as a writer for the spring 2022 Roundabout magazine, and as principal designer for the summer 2021 orientation magazine and WKNC’s 2020 Double Barrel magazine.

“Emma Carter has been a dedicated member of Student Media for the duration of her time at NC State,” wrote Windhover editor-in-chief Camilla Keil, who nominated Carter for the award. “She has consistently produced award-winning designs, most recently securing a Gold Crown for Windhover from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.

“Emma handles deadlines and unexpected challenges with grace and determination, and she produces beautiful designs without fail,” Keil wrote. “She communicates with her peers with kindness and clarity, and she makes Student Media a more welcoming place. Without her and her fantastic work, Student Media would be a much less vibrant place. She is the epitome of what Student Media should be.”

Carter will receive a $250 award from the Student Media Enhancement Fund, and her name will be placed on a perpetual plaque to be hung in a place of honor on the third floor of Witherspoon Student Center.

Dean Phillips, who continues to serve on the board since joining it as a charter member in 2007, is a multi-award-winning Senior Lecturer Emeritus from the NC State Department of Communication. Although retired, he still teaches a full class schedule during spring semesters. Prior to coming to NC State in 2001, Phillips spent decades as a television news anchor in markets across the country, and during his years in television earned numerous Associated Press and Emmy awards and nominations. After leaving television, Phillips became a communication consultant for political and corporate clients, and again he won numerous awards including Television Commercial of the Year from the North Carolina Chapter of the National Association of Broadcasters in back-to-back years. In 2015, he authored his first book, Cherrydale, and is writing a second book titled Playlight.