History - The Gold Star Journal

Reason for The Gold Star Journal

July 1996, Dr. Suzanne T. Mabrouk founded The Gold Star Journal. The journal provides Citadel students the opportunity to publish well written research papers, which were required for a class.

Gold Star Journal Funds

Spring 2024, LTC Steve (Class of 1963) and Mrs. Noreen Hodges established the Gold Star Journal Endowment by Steve and Noreen Hodges, ’63. This fund provides financial resources to support, enhance, and sustain The Citadel’s Gold Star Journal program.
Fall 2019, Dr. and Mrs. James F. Boyd, Class of 1971, established The Gold Star Journal Excellence Award. This award provides funds towards the six GSJ Student Awards.

Printing History

From 1997-2008, The Gold Star Journal was published on campus by the staff of The Citadel Print Shop.
To celebrate the 10^th edition (2006), The GSJ was printed completely in color.
From 2008-2018, The Gold Star Journal was printed by Sun Solutions.
2013-2018, The Gold Star Journal had been printed on Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper. FSC is devoted to responsibly and properly managing our forests so that they will continue to exist in the future.
In 2015, Colonel and Mrs. Abraham Goldfarb, made it possible to print the journal in color for the 2^nd time.
Since the 20^th edition (2016), The GSJ has continued to be printed completely in color.
Since 2019, Sheriar Press has printed The Gold Star Journal.

GSJ Covers

Cover of The 1997 Gold Star Journal — **1997**

Cover of the 2003 Gold Star Journal. — **2003**

Cover of the 2006 Gold Star Journal. — **2006**

The 1997 edition is the only one to have a hand-drawn cover.
The covers of the 1998-2004 editions featured a photograph taken by campus photographer Russ Pace.
From 2005-2011, the cover featured the stars and bars, the name of the journal, the year, and the Citadel seal. With the 2005 edition, the four-color photograph moved to the inside cover.

Cover of the 2012 Gold Star Journal. — **2012**

Cover of the 2015 Gold Star Journal. — **2015**

Cover of the 2022 Gold Star Journal. — **2022**

Since 2012, The GSJ seal has taken center stage on the cover of each edition, usually flanked by the stars and bars at the top and bottom.
With revisions to the GSJ seal in fall 2014 and fall 2021, the cover changed accordingly.
The cover of the 2022 edition featured a newly revised GSJ seal without any stars and bars. The book bind featured two stars, one of either side of the year.

The Story of The GSJ Seal

The Gold Star Journal Seal 2008 - 2014 — 2008-2014

2022-present

The 2008 editors Leon Hontz, Trey Williams, and Thomas Sullivan; Mr. Kevin Metzger (previously of Multimedia); and Dr. Suzanne Mabrouk designed the original GSJ seal. It included one star for each year that the journal existed prior to its design. This seal includes the Latin words Honoris Causa, which means “for the sake of the honor.” Since 2008, the seal has been included in each edition. 2012, the GSJ seal replaced The Citadel seal on the cover.
The 2015 editors Jane Ma, L. Miguel Parrado, Jennifer Burch, Ryan Leach, and Lauren Seedor; Mr. John Whitten (Multimedia); and Dr. Suzanne Mabrouk changed the GSJ seal by removing the feather pen and flipping the crescent. The new seal appeared on the 2015 cover.
The 2022 editors Elissa Reckdenwald, Ken Galsgaard, John Morris, Jesse Quimby, Trey Stevens, Dylan Young, Hampton Dennis, and Suzanne Mabrouk redesigned the GSJ seal. The stars and year in which the seal was originally designed swapped positions. The palmetto tree became more defined. The name of the journal and the school were printed in gold. The new seal took center stage as the only thing printed on the 2022 cover. The year and stars on either side were gold-foil embossed for the first time on the book bind.

The Birth of The GSJ Patch and Ribbon

Editor Ribbon

Publication Ribbon

Following approval from the Commandant’s Department, the GSJ patch was first awarded to editors in spring 2019. The 2015 GSJ seal appeared on this patch.
With the development of a revised seal in fall 2022 and approval of the Commandant’s Department, a new patch was made and awarded to editors, starting in spring 2023.

Fall 2023, the Commandant’s Department approved a ribbon and star for students associated with The Gold Star Journal. The ribbon and star were awarded retroactively to students who worked on the 2023 edition. They have been given annually ever since.
- In the first year, editors are awarded a gold ribbon and star to be worn on the dress uniform. Students who continue as an editor earn an additional star for each subsequent year.
- Published artists, authors, and photographers are awarded a gold ribbon for their dress uniform.

The Story of the Gold Star Journal Academic Conference (GSJAC)

To celebrate the 20^th edition, The Gold Star Journal, The Friends of The Daniel Library, and The Krause Center for Leadership and Ethics co-hosted an Inaugural Lecture. The event was entitled “Scholarship at Its Best: An Evening with the Authors and Editors of The Gold Star Journal.” The authors spoke about their featured papers. Editor-in-Chief Miguel Parrado spoke about his multi-year experience with the publication. Emeritus Editor-in-Chief Lance Braye, class of 2013, spoke about the influence of the publication on his medical career. The lecture became an annual event.
Due to COVID, the 2020 lecture did not occur.
The Gold Star Journal Lecture was renamed to the Gold Star Journal Academic Conference (GSJAC) for 2021.

Student Awards for Nonfiction Papers, Photographs, and Art

In 2011, the Best Overall Paper Submission Award was first given. Devon Smith, class of 2012, was the first recipient with his paper entitled “The Method Behind His Madness.”
In 2012, the Best Photograph Award was first given. Matthew Herold, class of 2012, was the first recipient.
In 2014, the Best Undergraduate Paper Submission Award was given. Sarah Katchen, class of 2014, was the first recipient with her paper entitled “Use of Percoll Gradient for Purifying Mitochondria Preparation in Brassica Olerace with Histone H3 Implications.”
In 2017, the Best Oral Presentation Award was first given. John Reynolds, class of 2018, was the first recipient with his paper and presentation entitled “The Annexation of Crimea: Intelligence Shortcomings and Successes.”
In 2019, the first photo story was published and honored with the GSJ Distinction in Photography Award. William Rasberry, class of 2019, was the first recipient with his photo story entitled “A Study in Wildlife Photography.”
Also in 2019, the Best Graduate Paper Submission Award was first given. Sarah Walker was the first recipient with her paper entitled “ADHD and Romantic Relationships.”
Fall 2020, the editors renamed The Best Overall Submission Award to The Boyd Family Distinction Award in honor of Dr. and Mrs. James F. Boyd, Class of 1971. Fall 2019, they had established The Gold Star Journal Excellence Award.
In 2023, the Most Creative Artwork Award was first given. Catherine Rodriguez, class of 2024, was the first recipient with her drawing entitled “Military Shame.”
The Citadel Alumni Association (CAA) teamed up with The Gold Star Journal in Spring 2024 to provide The Citadel Legacy Award to a senior, whose paper was published in the journal. Jackson Turner, class of 2024, was the first recipient of a lifetime membership in the CAA for his paper entitled Tomorrow’s War.

The first time, the Fine Arts Program honored two students whose art was published in The GSJ in Spring 2024.
- Catherine Rodriguez, class of 2024, received the Fine Arts Illustration Award for her drawing entitled Cycles of Change.
- Daniel Drohan, class of 2025, received the Fine Arts Photography Award for his photograph entitled Clear Up Left.

Editor Facts

1996-1997 was the only year in which all editors were sophomores.
The founding editors, Bradley Moorer, Joshua Jenkins, and Christopher McFarland, served two sequential years, 1996-1998, as editors of the journal.
Since 2007, most editors have served multiple years, with some serving in the same role for multiple years.
The following students served as editors for three academic years: Leon Hontz (2006-2009), Trey Williams (2007-2010), Thomas Sullivan (2007-2010), Taylor Gilliam (2008-2011), Mark Shaw (2009-2012), Lance Braye (2010-2013), Ryan Boodee (2011-2014), Jane Ma (2012-2015), Lauren Seedor (2014-2017), John Clark (2015-2018), Hunter Crawley (2016-2019), and Carleton Bailiff III (2018-2021).
The following students served as editors for two academic years: Bradley Moorer (1996-1998), Joshua Jenkins (1996-1998), Christopher McFarland (1996-1998), Joseph Rohe (2001-2003), John Bergmans (2004-2006), Matthew Harakas (2004-2006), Timothy Devine (2004-2006), James Russell (2005-2007), Jennifer Burch (2014-2016), Ryan Leach (2014-2016), Miguel Parrado (2014-2016), Elijah Melendez (2017-2019), Sierra Morris (2017-2019), James Quimby (2017-2019), Taylor Diggs (2019-2021), Jake Norris (2019-2021), Elissa Reckdenwald (2021-2023), Ken Galsgaard (2021-2023), and Dylan Young (2021-2023).
The following students served multiple years in the indicated role: John Bergmans (Editor-in-Chief: 2004-2006), Leon Hontz (Editor-in-Chief: 2007-2009), Jake Norris (Editor-in-Chief: 2019-2021), Elissa Reckdenwald (Editor-in-Chief: 2021-2023), and Ken Galsgaard (Assistant Editor-in-Chief: 2021-2023).
The following published authors became an editor the subsequent academic year: Walter Zink (1998), Stephen Foland (2001), Thomas Sullivan (2007), Jane Ma (2012), Robert Keener III (2012), L. Miguel Parrado (2014), Grant Miller (2016), Olivia Liquori (2023), and Victoria Snook (2023).

Artist Facts

Kaytlynne McCord (2022) was the first student whose artwork was featured in the journal. Her drawing entitled “Boat in a Bottle” appeared in the 2022 edition.

Photograph of hand drawn boat in a bottle. — Boat in a Bottle

The 2023 edition featured two drawings and two paintings. Catherine Rodriguez’s piece was honored with the first time Most Creative Artwork Award.

The following students published art in multiple journals: Osbourne Owens (2023 & 2024) and Catherine Rodriguez (2023 & 2024).

Author Facts

Priyadarshini Mukherjee, MBA program, was the first graduate student to be published in the journal (1997) with her paper entitled “The Enron Debacle.”
Chris Paige, Class of 2002, was the first freshman to be published in the journal (1999) with his paper entitled “The Roman Warrior Tradition.”
Due to the quality of their work, the following students published multiple papers in the journal: Lance Braye (2011, 2012, & 2013), Hannah Dion (2019 & 2021), Robert Keener (2012 & 2014), David Leaumont (twice in 1997), Jane Ma (2012, 2014, & 2015), Franklin McGuire, Jr. (2012 & 2013), Grant Miller (2016 & 2018), Marttin Periola (2009, 2010, & 2011), John Riser (2011 & 2012), Matthew Selmasska (2011 & 2012), Anastasiya Smertina (2001 & 2002), Shiloh Smiles (2021 & 2022), Dean Sproles (1997 & 1998), and Todd Truesdale (2017 & 2018).

Photographer Facts

Ku-Chu Hsu (2006) and Brian Amen (2006) were the first students to publish photographs in the journal. Their photographs appeared in the 2006 edition.
Due to the quality of their work, the following students published photographs in more than one journal: Dashawn Costley (2020 & 2021), Kaytlynne McCord (2019 & 2022), William Rasberry (2018 & 2019), Erika Sineath (2018 & 2019), Jacob Williams (2021 & 2022), Matthew Smith (2022 & 2023), Jessica Bailey (2023 & 2024), and Sarah Norton (2023 & 2024).

The Gold Star Journal Legacies

Scott (Class of 2013, published 2013) and Michael (Class of 2016, published 2016) Holmes are the first siblings to have been published in the journal.
James (Class of 2020, served 2017-2019) and Jesse (Class of 2023, served 2021-2022) Quimby are the first siblings to have served as editors of The GSJ.
Cooper (Class of 2025, published 2022) and Alathea (Class of 2026, published 2023) Morse are the first cousins to have been published in the journal.

Awards Earned by The Gold Star Journal

2020 special judges award — 2020 Special Judges Award

PICA 2022 Award Photo — 2021 Special Judges Award

In 2005, The Gold Star Journal was a Special Merit Award Recipient in the Other Magazines Category of The Case District III Advancement Awards Program. The entry included the 2004, 2003, and 2002 editions of The Gold Star Journal.
In 2021, The 2020 Gold Star Journal received the Athens Paper Award for Most Creative Use of Paper and the Special Judges Award for Soft Cover Booklet, both from the Printing Industry of the Carolinas (PICA).
In 2022, The 2021 Gold Star Journal received the Special Judges Award for Soft Cover Booklet (PICA).
In 2023, The 2022 Gold Star Journal received a record of number of awards: Most Outstanding College Magazine (American Scholastic Press Association, ASPA), First Place with Special Merit (ASPA), South Carolina Notable State Documents (SC State Library), and Best of Category for Soft Cover Books (PICA).
In 2024, The 2023 Gold Star Journal received a record-setting five awards: First Place Magazine (American Scholastic Press Association, ASPA), Most Outstanding Cover (ASPA), 2ⁿd Place for Best Magazine Contents Page/Spread (College Media Association, CMA), 2^nd Place for Best Photo Illustration (CMA), 3^rd Place for Best Portrait (CMA).