Journalism student Emil Rizkalla traveled to the 2024 Spring National College Media Conference with hopes of learning and maybe placing top three in a contest. His photos ended up winning four awards—and he wasn’t alone.
“For someone who got into photojournalism really spontaneously, I did not expect this at all,” Rizkalla said. “I was honestly speechless.”
Including Rizkalla, eight students in the Pierce College media arts department attended the conference, which was held in La Jolla, California on March 7-9, 2024. The event was hosted by Associated Collegiate Press (ACP), in partnership with the California College Media Association (CCMA) and the Journalism Association of Community Colleges (JACC).
“A highlight was being able to spend time with other students in the media arts department at Pierce,” journalism student Gerardo Escobar said. “It was really fun seeing everyone from all these schools come together.”
More than 800 students from community colleges and four-year universities attended the conference, which offered opportunities including media critiques, competitions, workshops led by professional journalists and affinity group roundtables.
“One of the most interesting parts of this whole experience was to learn from the mentors and experts,” first-time attendee Sadie Shields said.
Current and former members of The Roundup and The Bull Magazine took home 18 awards in statewide contests run by JACC and CCMA.
The Bull staff won a General Excellence award from JACC, one of the highest honors for a community college publication.
The following students won individual awards:
- Daniela Raymundo, first place magazine photo essay, honorable mention magazine photo
- Emil Rizkalla, first place news photo, second place news photo, second place creative portrait, honorable mention feature photo
- Alexis Guevara, first place magazine photo
- Benjamin Hanson, second place sports feature photo, third place sports action photo, fourth place front page layout
- Delilah Brumer, second place news writing, third place copy editing
- Myraneli Fabian, fourth place news photo
- Lindsey Whittaker, fourth place audio news
- Gerardo Escobar, honorable mention critical review, honorable mention sports game story
- Tyler Hale, honorable mention sports writing
