By Kevin Camargo
East Los Angeles College Campus News won 15 awards at the Journalism Association of Community Colleges’ State Convention on March 28-30 at the Doubletree by Hilton Sacramento.
Steven Adamo won first place in News Judgment/Layout, third and fourth place for Illustration from the spring semester, a continuing scholarship, and an achievement award for student leadership.
Noe Ortega won Honorable Mention for Sports Game Story, as well as a continuing student scholarship.
“It’s an honor to (win) Honorable Mention,” Ortega said. “It feels good to win something (and) have your stories and hard work recognized.”
Andrew Ayala won Honorable Mention for Critical Review, a continuing scholarship and an achievement award for student leadership.
“At the moment, it feels good to win,” Ayala said.
“It feels good to not only see myself win, but the rest of the team as well.”
Melody Ortiz won Honorable Mention for Editorial Cartooning and a continuing student scholarship.
“I expected to get Honorable Mention, and I got Honorable Mention,” Ortiz said.
A total of 309 delegates from 29 colleges attended the convention.
Students were not only able to compete, but also network with professionals and attend different workshops. Luis Castilla and Ivan Cazares won Honorable Mention for Team Feature.
“It was an interesting competition because we didn’t know what we would be covering, and we know we made a couple mistakes, so I think we are happy to be honored with Honorable Mention,” Cazares said.
Stephanie Guevara won Third Place for Feature Photo.
“When I saw all the Honorable Mentions, and I did not see my name, the first thing that came to my mind was ‘I am not going to win anymore,” Guevara said.
“When I saw my name in third place, I honestly was shocked.”
Guevara said she went up to get her award and does not remember how she got back to her seat.
Julie Santiago won Honorable Mention for News Photo.
“I am glad our team was able to bring something back home and make us proud,” Santiago said.