"Every spring, Amarillo College Student Media returns from the Texas International Press Association (TIPA) convention loaded down with a heap of hard-earned accolades – the high-water mark was 28 awards in 2015.
Well that’s old news.
AC students returned from the TIPA convention, held March 21-24 in Dallas, with a whopping haul of more than 50 statewide honors, a high-water mark that includes first-place awards for overall excellence in radio, television and magazine.
“The students’ performance in these contests validates that they are learning the skills needed to succeed in media careers,” said Jill Gibson, Matney Mass Media Program chair.
AC’s TIPA awards represent the results of both live on-site contests during the convention and work done during the Spring and Fall semesters of 2017.
Among the foremost individual accolades won by AC were: Stevi Breshears, editor of The Ranger, who received an excellence award as Two-Year College Editor of the Year, and Salvador Gutierrez, who won two first-place prizes in live on-site contests – for Spanish news writing and Spanish radio announcing.
TIPA is an association representing the student media at two-year and four-year, public and private colleges and universities in Texas and is the oldest and largest student press association in the nation. About 500 students and advisers attended the convention representing more than 40 colleges and universities.
“Amarillo College students have established a tradition of winning statewide and national journalism and media contests,” said Maddisun Fowler, AC student media coordinator. “While it is great to receive awards, the true benefit is the learning that takes place as a result of participating in this convention.”
Other AC students who received first-place prizes were Lily Gamble for blogging; Ivan del Val for feature radio and video reporting; Micah Smith for general news audio; Claire Ekas for ad design; Salvador Gutierrez for Spanish advertising; Kris Fredrick and Tyler Heddin for video promotion; Savannah Tarbet for online engagement strategy; Jenna Gibson, Claire Ekas, Destiny Kranthoven, Salvador Gutierrez and Michelle Martinez for general magazine overall design; Destiny Kranthoven for editorial cartoon and first place staff awards for audio program production, audio newscast, video newscast, breaking audio news story and website overall design. A complete list of awards is included at the end of this release.
Along with the on-site contests, the students attended workshops, presentations and critiques with media professionals and advisers.
“The convention allows our students to exchange ideas with their peers, network with prospective employers and learn about university transfer options,” Fowler said. “These benefits, along with the hands-on experience using their skills in a competitive environment, makes this convention an invaluable experience.”
Attending the TIPA convention from AC were newspaper editor Stevi Breshears, magazine editor Claire Ekas and student media members Salvador Gutierrez, Carter Hall, Lauren Ebben, Sir Garen Grayson, Jordan Gipson, Brianna Maestas and Keegan Ried, along with advisers Jill Gibson and Maddisun Fowler."
-Joe Wyatt, Amarillo College
