Awards

2026 Apple Awards, College Media Association (CMA)

• Second Place — Best Opinion Column — Division II — Phillip Voorhees
  • Natchitoches voters may be silenced due to the U.S. Supreme Court redistricting case
• Second Place — Best Podcast — Division II — Anastasia Douglas
  • Burning Conversations Season 4 Episode 3 — The Social Side of Learning
• Honorable Mention — Best News Web Site — Division II — Kallie Bourgeois and Lalaina Wood

2025 Apple Awards, College Media Association (CMA)

• First Place — Best Social Media Coverage of a Single Event — Division II — Lia Portillo Cantarero 
• Second Place — Best Opinion Column — Division II — Kallie Bourgeois
  • Navigating going home for the holidays after the 2024 Presidential Election

2024 Mark of Excellence Awards, Society of Professional Journalists Region 12

• Winner — General News Reporting Small Enrollment Division — Lia Portillo
  • NSU presidential semifinalists will visit campus next week: A breakdown of the candidates
• Finalist — Corbin Gwaltney Award for Best All-Around Student Newspaper Small Enrollment Division — The Current Sauce Staff

2024 “Best of the South” Southeast Journalism Conference (SEJC)

• First Place — Best Newspaper Designer — Juliana Nobles Pacheco and Hayley Keeler
• Third Place — Best News Writer — Lia Portillo

2024 Liberty Awards presented by SPJ, flytedesk, CMA and ACP

• Third Place — Best Election Print Edition for schools under 10,000 enrollment
  • The Current Sauce Election E-Edition

2024 SPJ Louisiana Outstanding Journalism Awards

• First Place — Student Print Feature Reporting — Madelyn Murphy
  • Madeline Romero’s “Little Bird” senior exhibition invites viewers to find their inner Little Bird 
  • From long distance couple to husband and wife
  • NSU art faculty’s work on display shows their burning passion for more than just teaching
• Second Place — Student Print News Reporting — Lia Portillo Cantarero
  • Some NSU students don’t feel safe at The Quad
  • NSU President Marcus Jones stands by decision; search firm hired to find new head football coach
  • Natchitoches mayor announces scholarship raffle; did he violate the law?
• First Place — Student Multimedia Reporting — Lia Portillo Cantarero and Isabel Juarez Rubio
  • NSU alumna returns to star in her own Taylor Swift Tribute show
• Second Place — Student Multimedia Reporting — Kallie Bourgeois and Kevin Thomas
  • NSU athletics director Kevin Bostian addresses the decision to cancel the season and the future of football

2024 Apple Awards, College Media Association (CMA)

• Second Place — Best Crisis Coverage — Division II and III — Lia Portillo Cantarero, Kevin Thomas and Kallie Bourgeois 
  • Some NSU students don’t feel safe at The Quad
  • NSU President Marcus Jones stands by decision; search firm hired to find new head football coach
  • NSU athletic director Kevin Bostian addresses the decision to cancel the season and the future of football
• Second Place — Best Multimedia Package — Division II — Lia Portillo Cantarero and Isabel Juarez Rubio
  • NSU alumna returns to star in her own Taylor Swift Tribute show
• Second Place Division II — Best Opinion Column — Destin Lopez
  • Low-income housing coming to Natchitoches: Its impact and the response

2020 “Best of the South” Southeast Journalism Conference (SEJC)

• 10th Place — Best Arts and Entertainment Writer — Kendall Caple

2015 “Best of the South” Southeast Journalism Conference (SEJC)

• 10th Place — Best Opinion/Editorial Writer — Megan Boyanton

2003 Student Newspaper Competition, Louisiana Press Association 

• First Place — Staff Generated Black & White ¼ Page or Under 

• First Place — Advertising Idea or Promotion 

2002 Better Student Newspaper Competition, Louisiana Press Association 

• First Place — Staff Generated Black & White ¼ Page or Under 

• Honorable Mention — General Excellence