Sustainability Students Awards

Four BHSU students honored for their BHSU Campus Beauty photos

14 November 2018

Black Hills State University was recently awarded the Spearfish Area Chamber of Commerce Beautification Award. To commemorate the award, BHSU students where challenged to capture campus beauty in a photo contest.

More than 60 photos were submitted for the contest and were judged by several criteria including relation to theme, creativity/aesthetic appeal, quality of image, and marketability.

Winners of the contest are:
1st Place: Brittany Schoenfelder, photography major from Lakewood, Colo., for a photo of the Bordeaux Residence Hall with Crow Peak Mountain in the background
2nd place – Cody Cline, mass communication major from Rapid City, for a photo of the sunset and banners on campus
3rd place – Morgan Seymour, business administration major from Stanley, N.D., for a photo of the arch in Ida Henton Park
People’s Choice – Keegan Baatz, photography major from Sioux Falls, for a photo of a print in his residence hall room

The BHSU campus is often recognized as the most beautiful in the region and has made multiple landscaping advancements over the past few years, including the addition of 1,000 new trees, a new hillside that connects the campus to the city’s bike path, and an increase in energy efficient LED outdoor lighting. BHSU is honored to be recognized for its efforts to enhance the community.

With the motivation behind the photo contest sprouting from this Beautification Award, students were invited to share their own photos that showcased what they found beautiful about the campus. Whether from a photography major or just a student with a keen eye and a smartphone, Entries flowed in from photography majors and from other students with a keen eye and smartphone. Displays of autumn trees, the nearby hills, campus structures, and even photos inside classroom buildings or residence halls were narrowed down by judges. Students were also invited to vote on their favorites through social media.

Schoenfelder, the first place winner, was inspired by the views seen from campus. She took the image from the third floor of Woodburn Hall noting the great vantage point to see the sunset over Crow Peak Mountain.

Prizes were awarded to four students whose photos were deemed the best of BHSU. Prizes were sponsored by several local businesses in the community, including Health Source Chiropractic, Red Water Kitchen, Killian’s, Ventana, The Junk Drawer, The Hot Room, Vast Adventure, BHSU Bookstore, and Live Wild Media. To see the photos visit bhsu.edu/campusbeauty