Yanella Gordon, of the Capital Outlook in Tallahassee, Fla., and Melanie McNair, of the Buckeye Review in Youngstown, Ohio, proudly display their trophies from the A. Philip Randolph Messenger Awards.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - When people think of noted awards such as the Pulitzer Prize or the Messenger Awards, they often assume the recipient to be "a well-seasoned professional" who has spent most of his or her life in the field. But one of the winners of this year's A. Philip Randolph Messenger Awards defies that notion.

Melanie McNair, a 19-year old sophomore business major at Howard University, surprised many with her article, "Sex: The Emotional Aspect." For it, she won her a Messenger Award Best Overall Editorial or Commentary in the category of civil rights, making her the youngest to attain such an honor.

"I wasn't expecting this," McNair said. "I just wanted to help my father with his paper."

McNair was given the assignment by father and publisher of The Buckeye Review, M. Mike McNair, who at the time was short staffed. McNair says he gave his daughter the assignment in hopes of exposing her to a "new experience and environment."

"Your exposure to wide areas and great opportunities allows you to dream bigger," Mike McNair stated. "I want people to dream bigger."

Apparently, the exposure opened a door for the young writer. Though not a journalism major, McNair got her point across about the downfalls of premarital sex. She approaches the topic from a moral angle, focusing on the emotional instead of the physical side.

"Every time you hear about the pros and cons of sex, people usually focus on STDs and other health problems," McNair said. "People don't understand that the emotional side can be just as damaging as STDs, and even worse."

McNair used her friend's experiences and personal observation to compose the article, in hopes of educating readers along the way.

"If the opportunity presents itself, I would like to speak out on this issue," she said. "Until then, I will continue to write at the paper, and hope that my article has affected someone."

Other papers honored at the Messenger Awards include the Minority Opportunity News of Dallas Texas, which received recognition for Best Overall Commentary in Education, for the article, "The Education and Welfare of Our Children-'Whose Job is It?" by Belinda G. Alexander. But another big winner was The Capital Outlook of Tallahassee, Fla., which received the award for Best Overall News Story in the category of education and in the civil rights category, making it the first newspaper to take home half of the Messenger Awards.

"It's unbelievable," Roosevelt Wilson, publisher of the Capital Outlook said. "We thought about how hard we worked to provide information to readers, and knowing that the value is recognized by peers is exciting. It's very humbling."

Yanella Gordon, writer of the winning Best Education News Story, "One Florida Flunks Math," shared similar emotions.

"Its hard to describe because we worked really hard to meet the standard of the legacy of A. Philip Randolph. To meet it is dynamic, and it serves as a testament to Capital Outlook's heart," Gordon said.

Wilson, who also is a Florida A&M University journalism professor and was sports information director for legendary football coach A.S. "Jake" Gaither, mentioned that both writers of the winning articles, Yanella Gordon and Regina Stone, who won for her artle, "Black Room," are former students of his.

"It's pleasing to see my students excel," Wilson said. "It serves as a great testament to publishers of what we can do in producing quality journalism and in encouraging youth to continue the legacy."

DeAnna Carpenter is an NNPA News Intern.