Accent wins 27 state awards

The Accent newspaper staff took home 27 awards at the Texas Community College Journalism Association (TCCJA) state convention

on Oct. 14 at Texas State University. Among the awards won, the student-run publication won Sweepstakes in their division, first place for general excellence, second place for their website theaccent.org and third place for headline writing.

13 Accent staff members competed in live contests, attended journalism-related seminars and even played the game Catch Phrase with San Marcos Mayor Daniel Guerrero. Guerro is an ACC graduate, who spoke at the awards ceremony to welcome students to San Marcos at the TCCJA convention.

"I am really proud of all of the hard work our staff has put into making the Accent such a great newspaper and resource for Austin Community College students," Karissa Rodriguez, Accent's editor-in-chief said. "We have a very dedicated staff of student volunteers and editors who I highly respect. "

During the awards ceremony, seven staff members won awards for live contests that took place during the convention. Other awards were won in the canned contest that comprised of clips and newspapers submitted to be judged that were published during the 2010-2011 school year.

The 2010 edition of the student publication magazine Life4U also won 4 awards at the convention including third place for overall general excellence.

"Bringing home all of these awards, especially winning Sweepstakes feels very rewarding and is one of the highlights of my tenure as editor-in-chief," Rodriguez said who also worked as a photographer for Life4U. "I have put in a ton of time and effort to help guide the staff of the Accent and hearing them announce us as the best Division I newspaper in the state is the best reward I could ever ask for."

In addition to the Accent awards, current Life & Arts Editor Natalie Casanova also won three other awards for work completed as managing editor of the Brookhaven Courier last year. Casanova transferred to ACC this semester from Brookhaven College and is the current student president of the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association.

Earlier this semester it was also announced by the Associated Collegiate Press that Accent editors won two national ACP awards. Rodriguez and Layout Editor Elizabeth Brown won Honorable Mention in Multimedia Story of the Year an former Life & Arts Editor Sarah Vasquez also won a separate Honorable Mention award in Multimedia Story of the Year.

To see a full list of awards won visit theaccent.org.