Students from five UTRGV media programs spent part of their Spring Break competing in the 110th Texas Intercollegiate Press Association Convention in Corpus Christi and brought home 59 awards, including the Director’s Trophy.
Student members of The Rider newspaper, UTRGV-TV, UTRGV Radio, and Pulse and Gallery magazines represented the university at the convention held March 13 to 16.
TIPA is the oldest state collegiate press association in the nation and has grown into one of the largest and most respected collegiate groups in the country, according to its website.
For the first time in university history, UTRGV garnered its first Director’s Trophy, which is given to the school that wins the most points by placing in the on-site contests during the convention.
Students participated in live competitions that included news writing, radio advertising, television sports writing, print advertising, editorial cartoon and copy editing, among others.
In the on-site contests, The Rider won seven awards. Reporter Jessica Mendez received first place in Radio Advertising; Spanish Editor Eric Montoya, first place in Spanish News Writing; Social Media Editor Sergio Garcia, first place in Print Advertising; Photographer Aaliyah Garza, first place in Editorial Cartoon; Reporter Samantha Garza, first place in Spanish Radio Announcing; Online Editor Leslie Medrano, second place in Copy Editing; and Reporter Maleny Ortega, honorable mention in Press Release Writing.
The Rider also placed third in the Best of Show category.
UTRGV-TV Assistant Station Manager Yuliana Quiroz earned first place in Spanish TV Announcing; Chief Reporter Nathaniel Puente, first place in TV Sports Writing; and News Director Neida Alcantar, third place in TV Advertising.
In the English Radio Announcing competition, UTRGV Radio Station Manager Albert Monrroy placed first and Reporter Jerry Galindo garnered second place in Radio Sports Writing.
Pulse Magazine Writer Yazmin Sanchez earned second in Yearbook Design.
In the previously published and broadcast categories of the competition, works from UTRGV won 44 awards among Division 1 schools, including University of North Texas, Sam Houston State University and Texas A&M University. Awards included 19 from The Rider, 13 from UTRGV-TV, six from Pulse magazine, five from UTRGV Radio and one from Gallery magazine.
The Rider newspaper netted an honorable mention in the Newspaper Overall Excellence category.
Garcia placed first in Social Media Breaking News with a video named “Body pulled from Fort Brown Resaca.”
Arts and Entertainment editor Britney Valdez earned first in Headline Writing with “Seas the day.”
Montoya captured first and third place in the Spanish Feature Story category and second in Spanish Opinion Writing.
Mendez and former newspaper editor-in-chief Jesus Sanchez placed first in Spanish Feature News Reporting.
Former newspaper photographer Joahana Segundo earned first place in the Multimedia Slideshow category.
Alain Lestarpe, former online editor for The Rider, won second place in Sports Game Story.
Newspaper Editor-in-Chief Victor G. Ramirez placed second in General News and Multimedia Slideshow.
In a collaborative effort, Montoya and Ramirez garnered third place in Spanish News Story with a story about immigration issues in Brownsville named “Guiando sus destinos.”
Sanchez earned third place for Feature Page Design, Multimedia Feature, Illustration, Interactive Graphic and an honorable mention for General News Multimedia.
Mendez received an honorable mention for Ad Design-Static.
UTRGV-TV placed second in Overall Excellence Television Program and Newscast Video.
Former Chief Reporter Ileana Moreno netted first place in Spanish General News Reporting with a video story named “Avance del Centro de Diversidad e Inclusión” and an honorable mention for General News Multimedia.
Jacqueline Arias, former reporter for UTRGV-TV, placed second in In-Depth Reporting Multimedia.
TV Station Manager Illiana Luna, Quiroz and former News Director J.P. Hernandez captured second place for Program Production Video.
Puente earned second place in In-Depth Reporting Video.
UTRGV-TV Reporter Marisol Villarreal garnered third in In-Depth Reporting Multimedia.
Former TV Reporter Kenia Gomez placed third in Spanish General News Reporting.
Reporter Rocio Villalobos won third place in Spanish Feature News Reporting.
Luna also received third place in Sportscast Video.
Quiroz garnered third for In-Depth Reporting Video and received an honorable mention for General News Video.
Pulse magazine received an honorable mention in Overall Design and Overall Excellence for General Magazine.
Pulse Editor-in-Chief Erik Webster earned first place in the Environmental Portrait category, third in Advertising/PSA Video and received an honorable mention in Photo Story.
Celeste Strange, former Pulse section editor, placed third in the Cartoon Strip/Panel category.
UTRGV Radio won second place in Program Production Audio.
Monrroy captured first and, alongside Zugay Treviño, newspaper reporter and Gallery co-editor-in-chief, third place in General News Audio. He also won second in In-Depth Reporting Audio.
Radio News Director Hannah Lopez earned third place in In-Depth Reporting Audio.
Gallery magazine contributor Rozena Shirvani won second place in Environmental Portraits.
