El Camino journalism department wins several national, statewide awards

By Jamila Zaki • March 20, 2025

(L-R) El Camino College journalism students Jaylen Morgan, Erica Lee, Greg Fontanilla, Nikki Yunker, Isaac Ramirez and Angel Pasillas hold Apple Awards at the College Media Association’s Spring National College Media Convention in New York City on Saturday, March 1. (Stefanie Frith | The Union).

Staff from The Union newspaper and Warrior Life magazine were recently recognized with multiple awards at two national journalism conventions.

Six students attended the CMA Spring National College Media Convention in New York City from Feb. 26 to March 1, and nine students attended the ACP Spring National College Media Conference in Long Beach from March 6 to March 8.

In total, the El Camino College journalism program was recognized by four different journalism organizations and took home 46 awards from both conferences.

Ma. Gisela Ordenes and Eddy Cermeno, both working on the Warrior Life magazine in fall 2024, won a national first place award for their magazine design from the Associated Collegiate Press.

Cermeno said producing the magazine’s cover was a collaborative, multi-step process, involving Ordenes coordinating photoshoots with the main source of the story while former photo editor Raphael Richardson provided extra lights and equipment.

“It took time to take those photos, but in the end, it was very much worth it to see the end product and succeed and get recognition from a bunch of organizations,” Cermeno said.

(L-R) El Camino College journalism students Seph Peters, Nikki Yunker, Osvin Suazo, Jamila Zaki, Savannah Anderson, Jaylen Morgan, Greg Fontanilla, Rosemarie Turay and Angel Pasillas hold awards earned at the Associated Collegiate Press Spring National College Media Conference in Long Beach, California, on Saturday, March 8. (Stefanie Frith | The Union)

Editor-in-chief of The Union newspaper, Nikki Yunker, won a national ACP first place award for the news story she wrote about Basic Needs Centers at California community colleges.

“I was really surprised because I didn’t know. I didn’t realize that the story had that much impact, that it was going to be considered for such an award,” Yunker said.

Yunker said it took about two to three months over the in fall 2024 semester to put the story together.

She spoke to 17 sources, including students, professors, Basic Needs Center staff, California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office staff and experts on basic needs insecurity across the nation and locally.

Jack Mulkey, the advertising and business manager for the journalism department, is the main person in charge of submitting students’ work for competitions and awards.

“It’s a lot of work to do, but it is rewarding to get the students’ work out there in the world for professionals to see and judge,” Mulkey said. “We’re excited when students win awards for their work and that makes me very happy and everyone else.”

(L-R) El Camino College journalism students Osvin Suazo, Nikki Yunker, Greg Fontanilla, Jaylen Morgan and Angel Pasillas hold awards earned from the Journalism Association of Community Colleges at the Associated Collegiate Press Spring National College Media Conference in Long Beach, California, on Saturday, March 8. (Stefanie Frith | The Union)

Journalism professor and student media adviser Stefanie Frith has taught classes in the ECC journalism department for over 10 years and attends the conferences with students.

“Attending the conferences with students is paramount to making sure that our students have access to industry professionals and networking and the best training,” Frith said.

Frith said that the students gain a lot from the conferences and apply what they learn to their work.

“Being able to attend the conferences and having the support of El Camino College to be able to do that for our students means a great deal to us,” Frith said.

1. Associated Collegiate Press, Best of Show awards (National)