By Amber Quaid / Reporter
Del Mar College’s very own Foghorn staff took home 31 awards, as well as Journalist of the Year, at the annual Texas Intercollegiate Press Association competition. Staff member Raul Alonzo received the most individual awards, with seven, and was the recipient of the Mike Warms Memorial Community College Scholarship. Reporter Alexandria Rodriguez was named Journalist of the Year.
“It was scary walking up there but I had adrenaline going,” Rodriguez said. “I just kept thinking, did they just call my name?”
The Texas Community College Journalism Association Journalist of the Year award includes a 10-week paid internship at the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.
“Though I have never been one for awards or competition, it’s nice to have my work recognized and now I know my works means something,” said Alonzo, who works as a designer for Scripps at the Caller-Times. “I’m ecstatic, thrilled that the paper and staff overall did well. This goes to show how much everyone upped their game.”
TIPA started in 1909 and is the oldest collegiate press association in the nation. The TIPA competition had 42 Texas schools compete this year, one of the largest competitions it has had to date. The Foghorn staff took third place for Best of Show at the conference, held April 10-12 in San Antonio.
“It’s a satisfying feeling as editor to see my staff grow and learn and work hard to get what they deserve,” Foghorn Associate Editor Midori Allen said. “I believe it’s a good learning experience, especially if it’s your first one.”
According to TIPA the conference originally started out as three competitions and has grown to contests in general magazine, radio, television, online, two divisions of yearbook, two divisions of literary magazine and four divisions of newspaper, plus 25 on-site contests during the annual convention.
“I had a great time with my Foghorn staff,” said reporter Kira Hays, who won the Sports Action Photo category. “I felt incredibly excited about winning.”
There were also workshops offered during the competition that introduced students to professional journalists on topics such as Associated Press style, photography, the importance of internships, ethics in journalism, newspaper design trends and more.
“I thought about writing sports in high school,” Sports News Story award winner Carlos Gonzalezsaid. “It’s an idea for my future.”
TIPA is an association representing the student media at two- and four-year public and private colleges and universities in Texas.
“They learned a lot and represented the school in a very positive manner, not just through awards but through their behaviors and actions at the conference,” Del Mar College Journalism Professor Robert Muilenburg said.
“Go Vikings!” cheered Web editor Tera Elwell.
TIPA RESULTS
Staff:
Third place – Best of Show (Foghorn)
Honorable mention – Literary Magazine Overall Excellence (Siren)
Alexandria Rodriguez:
Winner – Journalist of the Year
(Texas Community College Journalism Association)
Midori Allen:
Honorable mention – Radio News Writing (on-site live contest)
Raul Alonzo:
First place – Literary Magazine Feature Story
First place – TV Advertising (on-site live contest)
Third place – Literary Magazine Essay
Third Place – General Column
Honorable mention – Critical Review
Honorable mention – Literary Magazine Feature Story
Honorable mention – Newspaper Design (on-site live contest)
Winner – Mike Warms Memorial Community College Scholarship
Beatriz Alvarado:
First place – Literary Magazine story package (with Devin Moreno)
Honorable mention – Literary Magazine Cover Design
Honorable mention – Literary Magazine Overall Excellence (with staff)
Honorable mention – Photo Illustration
Cody Bahn:
Second place – Feature Photo
Third place – Feature Page Design
Third place – Sports Action Photo
Third place – Picture Story (with Tera Elwell)
Honorable mention – Sports Feature Photo
Honorable mention – Sports Page Design
Kaliegh Benck:
Honorable mention – Feature Story
Crystal Chavez:
First place – Literary Magazine Photo Essay
Tera Elwell:
First place – Sports Feature Photo
Third place – Picture Story (with Cody Bahn)
Honorable mention – Live News video (on-site live contest)
Carlos Gonzalez:
Honorable mention – Sports News Story
Mia Hawes:
Third place – In-depth Reporting
Kira Hays:
First place – Sports Action Photo
Kelsey Heatley:
Honorable mention – News Story
Devin Moreno:
First place – Literary Magazine Story Package (with Beatriz Alvarado)
Eddie Puente:
First place – Headline
Third place – News Photo
Honorable mention – Feature Photo
Amber Quaid:
Second place – PR Crisis Management (on-site live contest)
