Student Media wins more than 40 state awards, second Director’s Trophy
UTRGV Student Media competed in the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association Convention from March 22 to 25 in Fort Worth and brought home 48 awards, including its second Director’s Trophy.
Student members of The Rider newspaper, KVAQ-TV, Vaquero Radio and Pulse magazine represented the university at the convention held at the Hilton Fort Worth.
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 second time in university history, UTRGV won the Director’s Trophy, beating out schools, such as Baylor University, Texas A&M University, Texas State University, the University of Texas at Arlington and Midwestern State University.
The Director’s Trophy is given to the school that wins the most points by placing in the on-site contests during the convention. UTRGV Student Media won its first Director’s Trophy in 2019.
During the convention, Student Media won seven first-place, one second-place and three third-place awards, along with three honorable mentions.
Students participated in live competitions that included TV announcing, radio advertising, newspaper design, Spanish news writing, copy editing and sports writing, among others.
In the on-site contests, The Rider won six awards. Editor-in-Chief Verilu Infante received first place in Newspaper Design and third place in Yearbook Design; Spanish Editor Fatima Gamez Lopez, first place in Spanish News Writing; Copy Editor Daynara Gutierrez, honorable mention in Copy Editing; Sports Reporter Jose Medina, honorable mention in Print Sports Writing; and Arts & Entertainment Editor Omar E. Zapata, honorable mention in Feature Writing.
The Rider also placed second in the Best of Show category for website and third for newspaper in Division 2.
KVAQ-TV Station Manager Alba Cantu Gutierrez earned first place in TV Announcing-Spanish and Video Editor Brianna Garcia, first place in TV Advertising.
For Vaquero Radio, Station Manager Rodolfo “Trey” Alvarado placed first in Radio Announcing; Assistant Station Manager Jan Luis Trejo, first in Radio Advertising and Radio Announcing-Spanish.
Student Media Advertising Manager Leslie Ramirez earned third place in Print Advertising to round out the 14 live contests awards that gave UTRGV Student Media the edge to win the 2023 Director’s Trophy.
This year, Sony, a Gold Sponsor of TIPA, provided two digital camera kits for a drawing that included live contest first-place winners. Cantu Gutierrez and Trejo each won a digital camera kit.
In the previously published/broadcast competition, Student Media garnered 34 awards. Gallery magazine, UTRGV’s annual arts and literary magazine, received seven awards. Awards included 16 for Vaquero Radio, nine for KVAQ-TV, four for Pulse magazine, four for The Rider newspaper and one for the Student Media advertising team.
Vaquero Radio netted first place in Program Production-Audio, second in Sportscast Audio, third in News Production-Audio and Newscast Audio, as well as honorable mentions in Program Production-Audio and Sportscast Audio.
Trejo garnered first place in Advertising/PSA/Promo-Audio for a stinger that featured actor, activist and rap artist Common, who was the special guest in the Spring 2022 Distinguished Speaker Series. The radio assistant station manager also earned first place alongside former Program Director Joel Rios and Online/Social Media Editor Amira Garcia in Program Production-Video.
Trejo and former radio Sports Reporter Isaiah Peña won first place in Live Sports Coverage-Audio. Peña also received first place in Sports Reporting-Audio.
Rider reporter and former radio News Director Silvana Villarreal earned four awards: second place in General News Audio Story; third place, In-Depth News Reporting-Audio; third place, Feature Reporting-Audio; and an honorable mention in Multimedia Feature.
Vaquero Radio Reporter Timothy Chapman received second place in Sports Reporting-Audio, while fellow Reporter Edgar Garcia and Trejo won third place in Advertising/PSA/Promo-Audio.
KVAQ-TV earned first place in Overall Excellence-Video, Newscast Video and News Production Video. The student-run station also placed second in Program Production-Video.
Former Reporter Jessica Amaya won first and second place in Sportscast Video. Reporter Xavier Aguilar earned third place in Sports Reporting-Video and In-Depth News Reporting-Video.
Cantu Gutierrez and former TV Assistant Station Manager Karen Lucero received an honorable mention in In-Depth News Reporting for their coverage of the gubernatorial debate between Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke in September at UTRGV.
For Pulse magazine, Graphics Designer Adrian Ortega captured first place in Photo Illustration; Graphics Designer Laura Menchaca Pino, second place in Static Information Graphic; Editor-in-Chief Daniel Gonzalez-Franco, second place in Static Ad Design; and Online/Social Media Editor Thom Denton, honorable mention in Overall Design-Website.
The Rider newspaper netted an honorable mention in Overall Excellence-Newspaper. Gamez Lopez also placed third and an honorable mention in Spanish News Story. Online Editor Danielle Perez received an honorable mention in Overall Excellence-Website.
For Student Media advertising, Marketing Specialist Viviana Infante, alongside Distribution Assistants Jesse Valencia and Jesus Solis, garnered an honorable mention in Advertising/PSA/Promo-Video for a promotion video for the Chemistry Department Open House.
Gallery awards
Gallery Editor-in-Chief Denisse Zecca and Jessi Mata, the magazine’s design coordinator and marketing director, placed first in Overall Design-Literary Magazine. Zecca and Mata also earned third place in Overall Excellence-Literary Magazine.
Gallery magazine contributor Analexy Galvan won second place in Illustration and Cover Artist Kaylee Hernandez placed second in Photo Illustration. Contributors Sonia C. Garza earned third place and Kimberly Gonzalez received an honorable mention in Cartoon/Strip Panel.
Hernandez and Mata also received an honorable mention in Cover Design-Literary Magazine.
