SAN MARCOS — The Telescope adds more awards to the walls of the newsroom after a successful trip to the JACC fall conference.
On Oct. 21, the Journalism Association of Community Colleges (JACC) held its SoCal fall conference at California State University Northridge in Los Angeles. Journalism students from community colleges across Southern California came together for the conference, featuring keynote speakers, on-the-spot competitions, workshops, and networking events. The conference ended with the award ceremony, where The Telescope took home five awards.
Awards won from the JACC SoCal fall conference. Photo credit: Cynthia Cunningham
A general excellence award was given to The Telescope staff for their website. Yanna Baradin, the current opinion editor, took home an honorable mention award for the opinion story she submitted to an on-the-spot competition.
“It feels really great to have my hard work pay off,” Baradin said when reflecting on the award. “The conference acted as a way to re-inspire, energize, and encourage me to keep up the good work.”
Writers from the 2023 spring semester also won awards. Trina McLeary, the previous editor-in-chief, won a fourth-place award for the editorial category. Mauricio Velazquez, former staff writer, was awarded an honorable mention for the critical review category. Jason Pache, former staff writer, received an honorable mention for his news feature in the Spring 2023 issue of Impact Magazine.
The Telescope staff was proud of the awards, and the event has motivated them to work even harder to deliver the news to Palomar students. However, the real inspiration for the staff came from their conversations with other journalism students, lessons learned from the workshops, and the bittersweet disappointment of not receiving all the awards they hoped for.
Next semester, JACC will be part of another conference, in association with the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP), in La Jolla. The Telescope staff is already preparing for the event by ensuring they continue to provide Palomar students with news of what’s happening on and around campus.
