Santa Rosa Junior College journalism students learned from professional journalists and competed against students from across the country during the 2025 Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) Spring National College Media Conference, held March 6-8 in Long Beach.
The three-day convention brought student journalists together for hands-on workshops, on-the-spot competitions, networking opportunities and award ceremonies.
Students and faculty advisers from SRJC’s award-winning publication, The Oak Leaf, attended the conference to participate in workshops ranging from investigative reporting to podcast production. Students competed in the Journalism Association of Community Colleges (JACC) competitions against other California community college student journalists.
Oak Leaf adviser Anne Belden emphasized the importance of these conferences for student journalists.
“I think these conferences are really valuable for students,” Belden said. ”Not only can they attend workshops that professional journalists present, but competing in the contests allows them to use the skills they’ve learned at Santa Rosa Junior College in real-life scenarios and test their skills against students from community colleges all over the state.”
Lauren Kelleher, a communications major at SRJC, reflected on the value of her experience as a 2025 JACC attendee.
“I definitely learned a lot — from design-related concepts like typography to more formatting-specific details and even best practices for photojournalism and reporting,” she said.
Kelleher also competed in the social media and news photo on-the-spot contests, gaining firsthand experience in real-world journalism.
Belden’s mentorship and The Oak Leaf staff’s hard work paid off, earning recognition in multiple categories.
Magazine Awards:
Magazine Cover Design – Fourth Place – Sam Guzman, Rosemary Cromwell
Magazine News Feature (Non-Profile) – First Place – Emelle Raschein, Oliver Kindt
Magazine Opinion Article – Honorable Mention – Henry Fliflet
Multimedia Awards:
Online Photo Story/Essay – Honorable Mention – Nathan Kaito Morris, Yna Bollock
Video Hard News Reporting – Fourth Place – Bryan Fructuoso, Leilany Sosa
Video Hard News Reporting – Honorable Mention – Liam Molino, Alexa Aguila Gutierrez
Newspaper Writing Awards:
Column Writing – Honorable Mention – Emelle Raschein
Feature Story (Non-Profile) – Fourth Place – Tara Thompson, Kathryn Mauck
Feature Story (Non-Profile) – Honorable Mention – Amy Moore
Opinion Story – Fourth Place – Cristan Molinelli-Ruberto
Photography Awards:
Environmental Portrait – Third Place – Yna Bollock
Feature Photo – Second Place – Yna Bollock
Sports Feature Photo – First Place – Yna Bollock
General Excellence Awards:
Magazine General Excellence – Meritorious – The Oak Leaf Magazine Staff
Online General Excellence – Meritorious – The Oak Leaf Staff
On-The-Spot Awards:
News Writing – Honorable Mention – Emelle Raschein
Critical Review – Second Place – Natalie Emanuele
Critical Review – Honorable Mention – Marty Lees
Feature Writing – Honorable Mention – Zoe Steiner
Opinion Writing – Second Place – Marty Lees
Audio News – Fourth Place – Kevin Terlizzi-Bowes
Copy Editing – Honorable Mention – Lucas Cadigan-Carranza
Sports Writing – First Place – Oliver Kindt
Sports Writing – Fourth Place – Nathan Kaito Morris
News Photo – First Place – Adair Alvarez-Rodriguez
Environmental Portrait – Fourth Place – Yna Bollock
Sports Photo – Honorable Mention – Yna Bollock
Digital Pacesetter – The Oak Leaf Staff
“We have won General Excellence in either print or online for most of the years since I started taking students to conferences in 2007,” Belden said. “This time, I was extremely pleased that we won the trifecta with Online General Excellence, Magazine General Excellence and Pacesetter Award for winning so many on-the-spot and publication awards.”
SRJC students and advisers represented their campus with enthusiasm and professionalism throughout the weekend, continuing the publication’s tradition of excellence in both state and national arenas.
“It’s always amazing to see students win awards and realize that their skills are just as strong as those from students at other colleges around the state,” Belden said.
Mary Ellen Wells • Apr 2, 2025 at 4:02 pm
Congratulations to all the staff at the Oak Leaf! These are amazing photos. All your hard work is recognized!