NAIT Nugget wins gold and silver at 2026 Canadian University Press Awards
By Ana Kostyrko on March 9, 2026
The NAIT Nugget Student Media earned national recognition at the 2026 John H. MacDonald Awards for Excellence in Student Journalism, standing out among nearly 600 submissions from student publications across Canada.
The awards, presented annually by the Canadian University Press, recognize outstanding post-secondary reporting in multiple categories.
This year, the NAIT Nugget brought home:
- Gold in Opinion Writing – Sanjiyven Alfred Joseph for “Smoking My Life Away”
- Silver in Investigative Reporting – Joshua Gwozdz, Alleah Boisvert and Amy St. Amand for “Procurement rules bypassed in $25k washroom renovation for NAIT President”
- Finalist in Science Reporting – Blair Garneau for “Crash, bleed, repeat: Healthcare students rehearse for real life”
For senior editor Alleah Boisvert, the recognition is about more than awards – it’s about representation.
“Seeing a smaller team at a polytechnic that isn’t super journalism focused get that recognition, and also Alberta recognition, is really exciting,” Boisvert said. “It’s really cool to be represented on a national level.”
Unlike larger university publications backed by dedicated journalism programs, the Nugget operates with a small staff. Many contributors are students from non-journalism disciplines who build reporting skills alongside their regular coursework.
Moving forward, editors hope the spotlight encourages more students to get involved, not just to write stories, but to develop critical thinking and media literacy skills.
“We want students to be curious, and we want them to be passionate,” Boisvert said. “We want them to come to the Nugget and put those skills to work by writing for an award-winning newspaper.”
With new credibility attached to its name, the NAIT Nugget is preparing to welcome more contributors and expand its coverage in the year ahead.