Texan Mosaic

Students in the mass communications programs at South Plains College won eight awards during the annual Texas Intercollegiate Press Association spring competition and convention, which was held March 30 – April 2 at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Dallas.

Nick Alvarado, a sophomore broadcast journalism major from Plains, captured one of those during a live on-site competition held on April 1. Alvarado placed first in Radio Sports Writing for a story he wrote after covering an NBA D-League game featuring the Dallas Legends.

There were 508 participants representing 46 community colleges and universities this year’s TIPA convention. TIPA is the largest student press association in the nation.

In the competition for Previously Published material, current and former staff members of the Plainsman Press received seven awards.

Joshua Ramirez, a sophomore print journalism major from Lubbock who serves as the sports editor for the Plainsman Press, placed second in the category of Sports Feature for his story on Chris Moser, a transgender athlete. Alvarado, who also is an editorial assistant and sports writer for the Plainsman Press, placed second in Sports News for his story on the Texan Track teams winning national championships.

Members of Plainsman Press and SPC TV recently traveled to Dallas to participate in the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association conference. Participating were (Back row, from left) Nick Alvarado, Riley Golden, Mallory Carver, Matt Molinar, Jonathan Brookshire, Taylr Oden, Joshua Ramirez, Marcos Rubio, Allison Vickers, Josh Bacon; (Middle row, from left) Charlie Ehrenfeld, Alex Perez, Chesanie Brantley, Sara Marshall, Brandi Ortiz, Dariella Hernandez, Devin Reyna, Nicole Trugillo, Natassia Henry, Jenny Garza, Billy Alonzo, Danny Vest: (seated) Tovi Oyervidez

Sara Marshall, a sophomore photojournalism major from Andrews, received an Honorable Mention award in the category of Feature Page Design. She currently serves as photo editor for the Plainsman Press

Jonathan Brookshire, a freshman print journalism major from Midland Greenwood, received an Honorable Mention award in the category of Critical Review for his review of a video game. He currently serves as editorial assistant and social media coordinator for the Plainsman Press.

Chesanie Brantley, a sophomore photojournalism major from Sudan, received an Honorable Mention award in the category of Ad Design. She currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Plainsman Press.

Jayme Lozano, a Levelland native who is now a junior print journalism major at Texas Tech University, received an Honorable Mention award in the category of Photo Illustration for the “Police State” in-depth reporting series.

Also, current Plainsman Press photographers Devin Reyna, a sophomore photojournalism major from Anton, and Tovi Oyervidez, a sophomore photojournalism major from Lubbock, joined former staff members Chelsea Yohn, an Amarillo native who is now a junior at Texas State University, and Josh Hamilton, former Editor-in-Chief, in receiving an Honorable Mention award in the category of Picture Story for a story on the Color Run in Lubbock.

Students participating in the trip and also competing in live contests were: Brantley, who competed in News Photo; Brookshire, who competed in Feature Writing; Marshall, who competed in Newspaper Design; Ramirez, who competed in Print Sports Writing; Reyna, who competed in Sports Photo; Oyervidez and Jenny Garza, a sophomore photojournalism major from Lubbock, who competed in Two-Person Photo Essay; Mallory Carver, a freshman photojournalism major from Lovington, N.M., who competed in Feature Photo;  Riley Golden, a freshman print journalism major from Lubbock, who competed in Headline Writing; Matt Molinar, a freshman public relations major from Levelland, who competed in PR News Release Writing and PR Crisis Management; Alex Perez, a freshman mass communications major from Lubbock, who competed in Critical Review; Dariella Hernandez, a freshman print journalism major from Fort Worth, who competed in Editorial Writing; Brandi Ortiz, a freshman public relations major from Lamesa, who competed in Copy Editing; Nicole Trugillo, a sophomore print journalism major from Amherst, who competed in News Writing; Josh Bacon, a freshman broadcast journalism major from Wolfforth, who competed in Television Advertising; Taylr Oden, a sophomore broadcast journalism major from Lubbock, who competed in  Television Announcing in both English and Spanish; Marcos Rubio, a sophomore radio, television and film major from Lubbock, who competed in Live Video News; Natassia Henry, a sophomore broadcast journalism major from Houston;  and Allison Vickers, a sophomore broadcast journalism major from Lubbock, who competed in Television News Writing.

Plainsman Press staff members have won 144 awards in TIPA competitions since 2004.