Susan Roden
City Times

After nearly a 20-to-25-year hiatus, San Diego City College was represented at the Journalism Association of Community Colleges (JACC) state conference and walked away a winner on April 5.

The City Times staff won three mail-in awards, stated adviser Roman Koenig through an online interview. Whitney Lawrence won second-place for a news profile story; Brittany Arquette, former staff member, won second-place for an opinion story; and Rebecca Saffran, former photo editor, won second-place for a news photo.

Editor-in-Chief Nailah Edmondson also received a certificate.

“When you consider that community colleges from across the state, and one Colorado school, submit entries for this conference, three top-three placements is fantastic,” Koenig said.

Two regional divisions, NorCal and SoCal, comprise JACC, with Fresno and Santa Maria as the divisionary cities. Periodically, out-of-state colleges will also participate in the national conventions.

This year’s weekend convention was held at the Wilshire Grand in Los Angeles. Whitney Lawrence, Shevaun Brandom, Alissa Wisniewski, Heather Richards and Andrew Murphy attended the event with Koenig, and each participated in various workshops, seminars and competitions.

“Whitney tried the on-the-spot news competition at the last minute and got good deadline experience out of it,” said Koenig.

Murphy, a journalism student, stated through an online interview that he attended two seminars. The first covered how American culture establishes and changes public policy with time. The second discussed magazine formatting, with a focus on how to write for publications and obtain a position in the field.

“Even though I am not a member of the City Times staff, I feel very honored to have been recognized and given the opportunity to go and not only represent my school, but also network with other students,” Murphy said, after commenting on his gained knowledge and invaluable experience.

The first time Koenig attended the JACC conference was as a community college journalism student, so he considered it a milestone to attend as an instructor.

“It was a lot of fun to see it from the adviser’s side this time. I definitely look forward to going again,” Koenig said.

And to top off an award-winning event, Koenig was one of the several advisers who received the “Extra Mile” award for his volunteer service to JACC.