By Mark Bauer/se news editor
The Collegian, TCC’s student newspaper, came up big in recent live, on-site competitions, finishing first place in three of four categories and receiving honorable mention in two of them.
The categories included news writing, news photo, editorial writing and copy editing.
The competition is part of an annual journalism conference sponsored by the Texas Community College Journalism Association and is at different colleges throughout the state each year.
This year’s conference was at Texas State University in San Marcos.
For the competition, students were bused to a local park in San Marcos to gather information on a mock political rally that addressed a controversial topic.
After they returned to the campus, students had one hour to complete their assignments.
Katie Hudson-Martinez, feature editor, received first place in news writing and said the competition was a good experience not only because she came away a winner, but it also allowed her to get to know the other students better.
“ We did a lot of laughing and had a lot of fun,” she said. “I am very proud to be a part of The Collegian staff.”
Martinez credits the Collegian advisers, Eddye Gallagher and Diane Turner, as playing a big role in the staff’s accomplishments.
“ [Our instructors] have taught us everything we know about journalism,” she said.
David Boyd, reporter for The Collegian, agrees. Boyd had never written an editorial before and was searching for some last-minute advice before the competition.
“ I don’t think I would have done as well if it had not been for Diane’s advice,” he said.
“ Otherwise, I would have followed my normal viewpoint formula, which starts off in one direction and totally blindsides you with the real intention.”
Boyd walked away with first place in editorial writing.
“ Pound for pound, this may be the most efficient writing unit ever assembled,” he said of his fellow staff members.
John Garces, sports editor, received honorable mention in editorial writing. Like Boyd, he had never written an editorial before the competition.
“ I felt I did the best I could,” he said. “I was surprised when they called my name. I think it proves I am in the right field.”
Sara Pintilie, entertainment editor, and Sarah McVean, NW news editor, took first place and honorable mention in the news photo category. They have become known around the newsroom as the award-winning Sara(h)s.
“ We showed the other colleges that fancy camera equipment does not always equal talent,” Pintilie said.
McVean was thankful she had the opportunity to accompany the staff on the trip. She joined The Collegian as NW news editor late in the semester.
“ I am glad they had confidence that I was worth enrolling in the competition 24 hours before it began,” she said.
In addition to the awards the staff won during the live competitions, The Collegian also won first-place honors in previously published work for headlines writing, in-depth investigative reporting and editorial writing as well as other prizes in other categories.
The Collegian ultimately took second place in overall excellence.
Diane Turner, assistant director of student publications, said she was happy with the results.
“ First place [in overall excellence] went to San Antonio College. They have seven full-time faculty offering 18 hours of transferable credit,” she said. “This is compared to TCC’s two full-time faculty members.”
Andre Green, managing editor, said the win showed the dedication to writing and creativity the group has.
“ Great team win and phenomenal effort,” he said.
