Broward College’s art and literary magazine Panku has been honored as a REALM First Class magazine by the National Council of Teachers of English.

The 2024 REALM contest included nominations for 422 student magazines spread across 46 states and five countries. Panku was among the 125 magazines that were awarded the contest’s highest distinction, REALM First Class.

“It always feels good to be recognized for the work that we put in each semester—creating a magazine in less than 16 weeks is no easy feat--but it feels extra special to be honored on a national level for our 60th anniversary volume,” said Regine Darius, an associate professor of English and the current faculty advisor for the magazine.

Panku is a student-run, bi-annual literary and art publication funded by Broward College since 1964. The namesake is the Chinese god of creation, and mythology holds that Panku created the sun, the moon, the heavens, and the Earth. Anyone endowed with creativity is said to be possessed by the spirit of Panku.

The REALM contest recognizes excellent student literary magazines produced by students with support from teachers.

Darius applauded the efforts by faculty and students, including previous faculty advisor Marjetta Geerling and her student editors: Alanna Robbert, Melanie Hosein-Finol, Yuri Garcia, Ignacio Beroiz, Leaia Walker, Mark McCluster and Paola Alberto.

“The REALM award has been a pleasant surprise,” said Robbert, the previous editor in chief. “I’m glad that the hard work that my team and I had put into Panku’s 60th issue has been recognized.”

That sentiment was shared by Geerling. “The 2023-24 Panku team rose to the challenge of representing 60 years of Panku history, and I’m so proud to see them get the accolades they deserve for the beautiful magazine they created,” she said.

“I am proud of the work that our students have done, and I am excited to see what's next,” Darius said. “They are full of innovative talent; always have been, always will be.”