This past weekend, the Journalism Association of Community Colleges(JACC) held its annual conference in San Francisco where five members of The Roundup and The Bull staff came home with new connections, experiences and awards.
Pierce Media Arts students have not been able to attend the conference in a few years due to the pandemic, so getting to send students this year was something that they were looking forward to.
“It was a really good experience for the students,” adviser Jill Connelly said. “I was really impressed that they did so well in the ‘on-the-spot’ competitions because it’s a lot of pressure.”
The conference was a collaboration between JACC and Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) which extended the conference to include student journalists from four-year colleges. Students were able to participate in educational workshops and live competitions.
The Roundup staff won a JACC Online General Excellence award, fourth place in Magazine Design/Layout and both The Roundup and The Bull placed in ACP Best of Show.
Roundup Editor-in-Chief Fabiola Carrizosa competed in the Critique, Opinion and Audio categories and won first place in the audio on-the-spot competition where she was tasked with making a two-minute audio story.
“I was just very happy to have the opportunity to go,” Carrizosa said. “I got to hear different tips and tricks and advice from different writers and seasoned professional journalists.”
The Bull staff photographer David Pashaee won first place in the on-the-spot Creative Portrait category for his portrait of Keynote address speaker Odette Alcazaren-Keeley and an Honorable Mention in Magazine Photo Story-Essay.
The Bull Editor-in-Chief Benjamin Hanson placed in 10 awards. Hanson won first place in Feature Photo for his photo of 1-year-old Leib Kluwgant petting a goat at Pierce College. Hanson placed second in on-the-spot News layout and third in on-the-spot Sports Photo.
The Bull Managing Editor Rachael Rosenberg took charge of the on-the-spot Social Media competition; live tweeting Hanson’s photos, making TikToks and taking selfies with the Alcazaren-Keeley. The team earned an Honorable Mention.
Photo Editor Daniela Raymundo competed in the Creative Portrait.
The team competed together and won second place in the on-the-spot multimedia category for a video on a Free Palestine protest that was occurring near the hotel.
Pierce earned the JACC Pacesetter Award, given to the schools that earn the most awards during the conference.
Overall, the trip was a success. The students had fun and they also were able to take home some awards. The conference gives opportunities to network and make friends within the journalism community and that’s exactly what The Roundup staff were able to do.
“All I wanted them to do was have fun,” Advisor Jeff Favre said. “I didn’t expect them to win anything, it’s always fun when they do but I never really care about the winning stuff. But all five of them loved it and they all did great.”
