South Plains College students win journalism awards at state conference

 

LEVELLAND – Current and former members of the Plainsman Press staff recently received 16 awards from the Texas Community College Journalism Association (TCCJA).

 

The awards, for material published during the fall 2016 and spring 2017 semesters, were announced during the annual TCCJA fall conference held at the University of Texas at Arlington. The 16 awards are the most won by South Plains College students in the TCCJA competition in the past 15 years.

 

Tovi Oyervidez, sophomore photojournalism major from Lubbock, placed first in the category of News Photo for a photo she took at a Black Lives Matter event in Lubbock. Oyervidez serves as the photo editor for the Plainsman Press.

 

Steven Gehegan, former sports editor and print journalism major from Wolfforth, placed first in the category of Sports News Story for his story on the SPC Livestock Judging Team winning a national championship. Now a junior at Texas Tech University, Gehegan also received an Honorable Mention Award in the same category for his story on the SPC men’s basketball team placing third at the NJCAA National Tournament.

 

Sara Marshall, former editor-in-chief and print journalism major from Andrews, placed first in the category of General Column for an opinion story she wrote on concerns rising from the election of President Donald Trump.

 

Marshall, now a junior at Texas Tech University, also placed second in the category of Feature Writing for a story she wrote about a former SWAT team member who wrote a book about his career. Marshall placed third in the same category for a feature story she wrote about local wineries, including Trilogy of Levelland.

 

In addition, Marshall placed third in the category of In-Depth Series/Investigative Reporting for a series on the United States Border Patrol and training center under the direction of Chief Dan Harris Jr., former student, faculty member and Distinguished Alum of SPC. Marshall also earned an Honorable Mention award in the News Writing category for a story about a student who hung a banner from a building in downtown Lubbock.

 

Matt Molinar, who currently serves as editor-in-chief of the Plainsman Press, earned an Honorable Mention award in the category of In-Depth Series/Investigative Reporting for a series on prostitution called “Risqué Business.” Molinar, sophomore public relations major from Levelland, also earned an Honorable Mention award for News Writing for his story on a Black Lives Matter march in Lubbock.

 

Hannah Nelson, public relations major from Seagraves, placed second in the Editorial category for her opinion story on “13 Reasons Why.” Now a junior at West Texas A&M University, Nelson also placed third in the Feature Photo category for a photo she took at the “I Prevail” concert in Lubbock.

 

Shelby Morgan, print journalism major from Andrews, placed second in the category of General Column for a story she wrote about baseball and what it has meant to her life.

 

Alex Perez, sophomore public relations major from Lubbock, earned an Honorable Mention award in the category of Sports Feature for a story she wrote on Bruce Wang, an SPC student who competes in martial arts.

 

The Plainsman Press staff also placed second in the category of Website and third in the category of Headline Writing.

 

Members of the Plainsman Press staff have won 108 awards in the TCCJA competition since 2005.