ACU’s JMC students win big at TIPA conference

ACU Journalism and Mass Communication students competed this weekend against the state’s top universities, coming away with a hefty haul of awards and accolades. ACU students placed in nine on-site competitions and 37 contests for pre-submitted work for radio, newspaper, television and the web at the annual Texas Intercollegiate Press Association convention.

tipa-2010
JMC students and advisers at 2010 TIPA in Kerrville.

The Optimist, ACU’s twice-weekly student newspaper, and KACU, a radio station housed on campus, were each awarded sweepstakes in their respective categories.

Current and former students also received first-place awards in live competitions, such as Copy Editing and Radio Announcing, and pre-submitted content from 2009, including Newscast, Non-photo Illustration, and Feature Story.

“Year after year, I’m impressed with the quality of students who enroll in our program and participate in the student media,” said Kenneth Pybus, ACU’s Student Media Adviser. “They bless us with their good work, as well as their desire to learn and succeed. Awards are a byproduct of that work. Our students continue to prove the importance of excellence in Christian education and living.”

TIPA is the largest statewide student journalism organization in the country. At the TIPA convention, ACU students competed in the top division against the largest universities in the state, including Texas Christian University, University of Texas at Arlington, Texas State University, Baylor University, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and the University of NorthTexas.

For a full listing of winners among ACU’s Journalism and Mass Communication students, visit the Optimist website.

Did You Know: Global communication technology company Alcatel-Lucent is offering an exclusive opportunity for one ACU student to join them at their Bell Labs facility in Antwerp, Belgium, for a six-week internship this summer to develop a mobile application that the student designs? The student will be selected via an idea contest that opened March 23.