Students in five UTRGV media programs traveled across Texas to compete in the nation’s oldest and largest student press association convention and returned with 51 awards.
Members of The Rider, UTRGV-TV, UTRGV Radio, Pulse and Gallery magazines represented the university in the 109th annual Texas Intercollegiate Press Association Convention held March 22-24 in Dallas.
More than 500 students and advisers from dozens of Texas colleges and universities attended the convention.
They competed in on-site contests, including news writing, radio announcing, feature photography, television sports writing, magazine design and advertising, among others.
In the live competitions, The Rider won four awards. Reporter Britney Valdez received first place in Public Relations Release Writing; Spanish Editor Eric Montoya, second place in Spanish News Writing; Copy Editor P.J. Hernandez, honorable mention in Copy Editing; and Social Media Editor Sergio Garcia, honorable mention in Magazine Design.
UTRGV-TV News Director J.P. Hernandez earned first place in the TV Sports Writing competition.
In the on-site Radio Advertising competition, Student Media Advertising Sales Representative Jessica Mendez captured second place.
Gallery magazine Poetry Editor Ashley Hernandez received honorable mention in Critical Review.
In a collaborative effort, Pulse magazine Photo Editor Erik Webster and Gallery magazine Prose Co-Editor Grecia Ramirez garnered honorable mention in the on-site Two-Person Photo Essay competition.
In the previously published and broadcast categories of the competition, works from UTRGV won 43 awards among Division 1 schools: 18 from The Rider, 12 from UTRGV Radio, six from Gallery magazine, four from UTRGV-TV, two from Pulse magazine and one from Student Media advertising sales.
Gallery magazine won first place in Literary Magazine Overall Excellence. The magazine also garnered first place in the Literary Magazine Overall Design category.
Gabriela Gonzalez Balderas, Lisa Marie Serna and José Chavero captured first place in Literary Magazine Cover Design; Gonzalez Balderas also placed first in Illustration.
Sydni D. Salinas, a contributor to Gallery and The Rider Arts and Entertainment editor, earned second place in Feature Photo and Daniel García Ordaz received third place in Spanish Feature story for his “Romeo & Juliet ¿Y Qué?” piece, which was published in Gallery.
UTRGV Radio placed first in Newscast Audio for its Oct. 2 broadcast and third in Overall Excellence.
Nathaniel Puente, Edinburg station manager for UTRGV Radio, earned first place for “History of UTRGV Sports” in the Documentary Audio competition. Puente also placed second in Feature News Reporting-Audio and swept the Sportscast Audio competition by winning first, second and third places.
Brownsville Station Manager Annet Del Toro garnered second and third place in the General News Reporting Spanish-Audio competition.
Former UTRGV Radio Intern and The Rider Editor-in-Chief Jesus Sanchez received first place in the Breaking News Audio and General News Reporting Spanish-Audio competition. Sanchez also placed third in In-Depth News Reporting-Audio for a radio story titled “UTRGV Haunted Tales.”
The Rider netted an honorable mention in the Newspaper Overall Excellence category.
Former Spanish Editor Rebeca Ortiz placed first in Spanish Feature Story for her “Día de San Valentín: del amor y consumismo” article.
Montoya earned first and third place in Spanish News Story, as well as second in Spanish Feature Story.
Sanchez earned second place in Breaking News, third in Best Online Engagement Strategy and honorable mentions in Breaking News Multimedia Story, In-Depth Multimedia Story and, alongside former Photo Editor Mario Gonzalez, Newspaper Feature Page Design.
Montoya and Sanchez received honorable mention in the In-Depth Reporting competition for an article headlined “The fear of uncertainty,” about the rescindment of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
In the Headline category, P.J. Hernandez placed second with “Keep your mind in the gutter” and Valdez third with “The tassel was worth the hassle.” Photographer Albert Monrroy garnered second place in Multimedia Slideshow; Photographer Joahana Segundo and Salinas, third in Multimedia Feature; former Cartoonist Clarissa Martinez, third in Cartoon Strip/Panel; former Sports Editor Nathaniel Mata, honorable mentions in Sports Page Design and Sports Feature Story.
UTRGV-TV placed first in Newscast Video for its Nov. 14 broadcast and third in Television Overall Excellence for its Sept. 26 newscast.
Assistant Station Manager Yuliana Quiroz received honorable mention in In-Depth News Reporting Video and Reporter Kenia Gomez earned honorable mention in General News Multimedia Story.
Alexandra Mendoza, a former advertising sales representative for Student Media, won first place in the Ad Design Static category. Mendoza is now Gallery magazine’s Art and Design director.
Pulse magazine won third place in General Magazine Overall Design and honorable mention in Overall Excellence.
