The Union online and Warrior Life Magazine were awarded the General Excellence Award at the Journalism Association of Community Colleges (JACC) State Convention last week in Sacramento. Additionally, Union staff writers attained individual awards, placing in competitions consisting of up to sixty participants.
“We got general excellence for online and that is really huge because we didn’t get general excellence in the Southern California conference, but we got it statewide,” Viridiana Vaca-Rios, Editor-in-Chief of the Union Online and Warrior Life Magazine, said.
The Union staff spent half of their spring break at the annual JACC convention, a three-day event, winning awards in two major categories, the mail–in competitions and on-the-spot competitions, Kate McLaughlin, Union adviser said.
First time attendee, Brian Camacho, co-news editor, won first place in the sports story and said to have been “ecstatic” about placing first.
Camacho said that students participating in the sports story contest were instructed to cover California State University Sacramento’s softball game, a doubleheader game against Weber State’s Wildcats.
“We were there for 7 hours,” Camacho said. “By the end of the day everyone was tired, sunburned and mad.”
Camacho also said the second game had 15 innings, making it “the longest game in division one softball” at CSUS.”
Other on-the-spot wins went to Philip Prins, staff writer, who won second place for a sports photo and fourth place for a features photo. James Bell, staff writer, placed third place for critical review, and Thomas Schmit, editor-in-chief of Union newspaper, placed third for the news writing competition, while Vaca-Rios received an honorable mention for the feature writing competition.
The Union staffers said throughout their time at the convention, they were unaware of where and what they would be writing on or photographing.
“Once we got on the bus they told us we were going, which was to a roller derby practice,”I‘ve never shot roller derby before and I didn’t think anyone else that was going had either,” Prins said. “It put us all on a leveled playing field.”
Similarly, Vaca-Rios, to the Crocker Art Museum for an event called “U-NITE,” which showcased live music, art and poetry for her features writing competition.
“I just did what Lori (Medigovich) always tells us to do, find an angle,” Vaca-Rios said. “It was stressful but I had a lot of fun. I really took advantage this time, I went and soaked up all types of information.”
Thomas Schmit, Union editor-in-chief, said “I was surprised that I got more than an honorable mention but at the same I felt more of a desire to do better and go higher than that for next time.”
Lori Medigovich, journalism professor said her job is to be there to encourage the journalism students.
“My role is really to support them and encourage them, be a cheerleader for them,” Medigovich said. ” Our job is tell them yes you can do this, you’re going to be great!”
In total, the Union and Warrior Life staff won a total of 14 awards.
