Herkimer County Community College's literary and arts publication, Phaethon, secured third place for "Best Magazine" in the Eastern Division of the Community College Humanities Association for its 2026 issue. Additionally, Alyssa Leggett, a fiction editor and science major, earned second place in the short stories category for her work titled “Science is in Conscience.” The creation of the 2026 issue involved contributions from Leggett as well as visual editors Jillian Hutchinson, Avery Richard, Elijah Williams, Hailey Ramos, and Luke Bednar.