Christina Hammitt, newspaper and yearbook adviser at Cranbrook Kingswood Middle School for Boys, is the 2025 recipient of the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association’s Golden Pen Award.
Hammitt was recognized today during a surprise ceremony at her school.
The Golden Pen is the highest award MIPA bestows on a student media adviser and has been given continuously since 1952. Teachers must be nominated by their students, who assemble an extensive portfolio showcasing the teacher’s involvement in scholastic journalism activities and the impact they have had on current and past students.
The recipient is chosen by a committee of previous Golden Pen honorees.
In her 28 years as a teacher, Hammitt has advised student media programs at three different schools to achieve MIPA’s top honor, the Spartan Award, as well as numerous other state and national awards. She advised The Hawkeye newspaper at Bloomfield Hills High School (and its precursor The Andover Shield at Andover High School) from August 2004-January 2018; The Citadel newspaper at Charyl Stockwell Preparatory Academy in Brighton from August 2018 to August 2020; and The Crane newspaper at Cranbrook Kingswood Middle School for Boys from January 2021 to present.
The Crane was the only middle school newspaper in 2025 to earn a Spartan Award.
In the materials they assembled about Hammitt, current and past students, administrators and peer teachers praised her mentorship and coaching.
“Ms. Hammitt inspires her staff and students every chance she gets,” Emerson Whittaker, editor-in-chief of The Crane, wrote in nominating his adviser. “Unlike other teachers who may use their weekends to relax, Ms. Hammitt spends hers making sure her students succeed. She answers emails and helps us connect with unresponsive sources, revises stories alongside us, and even coaches us through designing pages when needed — all without complaint. While it may not sound glamorous, she does it with unwavering commitment because she believes in us and our work.”
The more than 50 pages of documentation in Hammitt’s nomination repeatedly echo those sentiments. Hammitt has been a mentor to teachers and a leader in the scholastic journalism community, including speaking at state and national conferences, judging in state and national contests, and serving as a president of MIPA. She was recently elected second vice president, a role which will put her in charge of the association’s mentor program.
Journalist Samana Sheikh, who most recently worked as a political reporter for Spectrum News in Columbus, Ohio, first learned about journalism in Hammitt’s classroom at Andover, now Bloomfield Hills, High School. Hammitt remains a mentor.
“We often discover our passion thanks to those who believe in us,” Sheikh said in her letter supporting Hammitt’s nomination.
Former student, Daniel Kehn, who went on to study journalism at Ball State University and to work with Hammitt on the Horizons-Upward Bound program, said he can’t thank his former teacher enough for helping to launch his career.
“Watching Christina in the classroom has taught me so much about leadership and the importance of a positive influence on young people,” Kehn wrote in a letter supporting Hammitt’s nomination. “Her ability to meet a student on their level and engage them in the hands-on learning process is astounding.”
Jessie Sutherland, who advises the broadcast program at Cranbrook Kingswood Middle School for Boys, said Hammitt, who friends lovingly call “Hammie” is a force of nature.
“Hammie has built a powerhouse of a student journalism program,” Sutherland said in her letter of support. “She has transformed young, eager writers into fearless reporters, critical thinkers, and, most importantly, storytellers who recognize the power of a well-crafted narrative.”
Hammitt has a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Ball State University and a master’s degree in counseling from Wayne State University.
MIPA launched the Golden Pen Award in 1952 as one of several ways to memorialize Donal Hamilton Haines, a University of Michigan Department of Journalism professor who served as MIPA’s director from its early days until 1950. Haines also advised U-M’s student chapter of Sigma Delta Chi, now known as the Society of Professional Journalists, which was the key organizer of MIPA’s first conference on May 22, 1922. Sigma Delta Chi honored the first Golden Pen winners with a golden “key” or pin of a quill, a tradition MIPA continues.
ABOUT THE MICHIGAN INTERSCHOLASTIC PRESS ASSOCIATION
Founded in 1921 and housed in the Michigan State University School of Journalism, the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association is a nonprofit organization composed of scholastic journalism teachers and publications advisers and their students. MIPA is committed to promoting and recognizing excellence in scholastic journalism at all levels through education, training and support of student journalists and their advisers.