UCC student media wins multiple journalism awards
Written by Press Release on June 1, 2022
WINCHESTER, Ore., — The Mainstream student media publications at Umpqua Community College won eight awards out of the seven categories they applied for through the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association Collegiate Newspaper Contest. Publications all over Oregon enter this competition. The Mainstream advisor of 19 years Melinda Benton shares her excitement for her small student staff’s big achievements.
“This competition is the most prestigious media contest in the state for both professional and collegiate publications,” Benton said. “These awards show how hard UCC students work and how much they learn. We’re so proud of them.”
Since the beginning of 2021, the small staff has had no more than eight students at once yet competed against much larger schools.
The Mainstream staff wrote a series that won first place and focused on Douglas County fires and local efforts for fire safety, clean-up and reforestation. In addition to this series, staff won second in Best News Story and Best Series and third in Best Writing, Best News Story, Best Section, Best Feature Story and Best Series.
“We worked countless hours, long nights and wore several hats to get these articles out on top of our other jobs and classes. It’s very rewarding to see all of our efforts paid off,” Editor for The Mainstream Savannah Peterson said.
All students at Umpqua Community College have the opportunity to join The Mainstream for course credits. Students can register for the J215 online at umpqua.edu for one to three credits. For more information about registering or how student media scholarships can help fund college, contact the advisor at Melinda.Benton@umpqua.edu
PHOTO CAPTION: Students Kacy Buxton, Faith Byars, Savannah Peterson, Peyton Manning, Rachel Arceo, Jerika Whightsil, J.R. Williams, and Chris Machado won eight state ONPA awards for collegiate student writing and publishing.
PHOTO CREDITS: Savannah Davis, Peyton Manning
Note: Student names are listed first in the top row left to right and then bottom row left to right.
