Former DMC journalism major named association's 2008 Journalist of the Year; DMC wins in 22 of 24 categories entered with "Foghorn" staff winning first place in Overall General Excellence for Newspapers category
Not only did Del Mar College journalism students hit a winning streak during the 2008 Texas Community College Journalism Association (TCCJA) conference, they also hosted the annual fall event here in Corpus Christi Oct. 2-3. Over 100 participants from 13 of the 20 TCCJA member schools attended the conference, competing during live contests testing their journalistic skills on short notice as well as learning more about online storytelling, open records, modern newspaper design and careers in journalism during breakout sessions.
However, the defining moment came when participants heard their names or the names of their school publications called during the awards dinner. Overall, Del Mar College won 31 awards in 22 of the 24 categories that students' inpidual work or publications were entered.
"I'm very proud that DMC student publications had a better than expected Texas Community College Journalism Association conference," says Robert Muilenburg, instructor of journalism in the College's Department of Communications, Languages and Reading. "For the second straight year, Del Mar College has won the sweepstakes award in the Magazine category; and for the first time in 11 years, we won the Sweepstakes in the Division 1 Newspaper category. We also broke a record for the second straight year by winning 31 awards."
Muilenburg adds, "The accomplishment I'm most proud of is Del Mar College taking first place in the Overall Excellence category for Newspaper. And, our student journalists deserve all the credit for their hard work on student publications. A majority of the time spent working on our student newspaper The Foghorn and the student magazine SIREN are volunteer hours, and these awards are a testament to the time and effort students put in every week beyond their other classes and jobs."
Among the winners, former DMC student Juan Ramirez won 10 awards. The list of awards earned by DMC publications, staff and inpidual students include:
Sweepstakes Award for Division 1 Newspaper (The Foghorn); Sweepstakes Award for Magazine (SIREN); The Foghorn Staff, First Place for Newspaper Overall General Excellence; The Foghorn Staff, Second Place for Newspaper Headline Writing; and SIREN Staff, Second Place for Magazine Overall General Excellence; Buddy Campberton, First Place for Magazine Non-Journalism Story; Sem Esquivel, Second Place for Newspaper News Photo; Lyanna Fuentes, First Place for Magazine Journalism Story and Third Place for Newspaper Feature Writing; Gina Garza, First Place for Newspaper Sports Photo; Yamira Gonzalez-Mendiola and Brian Silva, Honorable Mention for Newspaper In-depth Investigative; Milton Henderson, First Place for Magazine Non-Photographic Illustration and Honorable Mention for Newspaper Cartooning; Christine Hervey, Third Place for Newspaper Layout and Design and Honorable Mention for Newspaper News Writing; Aaron Kimmel, First Place for Newspaper Cartooning; Steven Martinez, First Place for On-Site News Writing; Veronica Perez, Second Place for Newspaper Sports Feature and Second Place for Magazine Photography; Leah Pezzi, Third Place for On-Site News Photography; Juan Ramirez, First Place and Second Place for Newspaper Picture Page or Panel, First Place for Newspaper News Photo, Second Place for Newspaper Sports Action Photo, Second Place for Magazine Layout and Design, Third Place for Newspaper Sports Action Photography, Third Place for Newspaper Sports Photo, Third Place for Newspaper Feature Photo, Third Place with Zachary Bibbs for Magazine Cover Design and Honorable Mention for Magazine Photography; Thomas Saldana, Honorable Mention for Newspaper Sports Feature; Andrea See, First Place for Newspaper Sports News Writing; and Brian Silva, Third Place for Newspaper Editorial Writing.
In addition to the competition awards, former DMC journalism major Lyanna Fuentes was recognized as the 2008 TCCJA Journalist of the Year. Fuentes graduated from DMC and transferred to Texas State University in San Marcos. Nominees submit samples of their work, academic transcripts and a recommendation letter to the TCCJA executive director, who then sends all nominees' information to the Corpus Christi Caller-Times Editorial Department for review. The inpidual selected for the award is provided a fully-paid summer internship at the Caller-Times. Fuentes completed her internship this summer.
