Young staff wins 21 awards
The staff of The South Texan (TST) student publication participated in the annual Texas Intercollegiate Press Association (TIPA) held in San Marcos, Texas. With a young staff and some who have never attended TIPA, a sense of excitement filled the air.
Despite this being a transition period for TST, the young members of the staff stepped up to the plate and brought home 21 awards.
“I learned how the environment is at TIPA. I think with all the newspapers we saw; I saw a lot of things we can use for the upcoming issues that I want to build on,” Co-Sports Editor Jacob Daniels said.
With workshops available, the staff was able to gather inspirations for the future and bring back new creative ideas they can translate into their projects.
“It was a crazy experience winning first place in the hype video category,” Digital Editor Dominic Valdez said. “I remember distinctly being there the third day and scrambling to get more footage. I was feeling under the weather and editing for what felt like an eternity. Being at the award ceremony the next day, finding out I won first place was just unreal,” Valdez said.
Valdez and Daniels placed together in the sports broadcasting category taking first place. These two talented men are just some of those who will be returning to TIPA in the coming years to bring in more awards, represent the university, and build connections with those they meet.
“It was really nice being able to create closer bonds and memories with the people I went with too,” Reporter of The South Texan Karla Muñoz said.
With experience under her belt, Muñoz looks to bring back what she has learned and better herself as a reporter to succeed and represent TAMUK well in the future.
“I am always proud of my student journalists and how they perform at contest and competition, and they always exceed my expectation,” Student Media Adviser for TST, KTAI and the Javelina Broadcast Network Nicole Morris said.
With this young staff now having experienced a competition at this level, they look to capitalize on what was learned and prepare for both the next TIPA as well for their futures in the world of journalism.
The South Texan’s first place awards included:
– Hype Video: The South Texan Staff
– Video Feature Reporting: Chris Olivarez, Bella Grossman
– Feature Story: Ronni Reyna
– Video Sports Cast: Jacob Daniels, Dominic Valdez
– Podcast: Mark Paz,
The South Texan’s second place awards included:
– Overall Excellence News Production: The South Texan staff
– Video News Cast: The South Texan staff
– Editorial Writing: The South Texan staff
– Best in Show Website: The South Texan staff
The South Texan’s third place awards included:
– Video program production: The South Texan staff
– General News Multimedia: The South Texan Staff
– Sports News Story: Zena DeSouza
The South Texan’s Honorable Mention awards included:
– Spanish News Story: Briana Beltran Mireya Martinez
– Video sports cast: Jacob Daniels, Dominic Valdez
– Spanish Feature Multimedia: Mariana Soria, Dominic Valdez, and Bella Grossman
– Multimedia Feature: Briana Beltran, Mariana Soria
– Newspaper Sports Design: Chris Olivarez
– Advertising/PSA/Promo: The South Texan
– Spanish Radio Announcing: Live contest, Karla Muñoz
-General Multimedia News: The South Texan staff
– Special Edition Online: The South Texan staff