The first-place feature photo by Editor-in-Chief Eli Young was announced, and a picture of a snoozing staff writer from Santa Barbara College’s The Channels appeared on screen, sending the room into laughter.
This was among the many awards that Hornet Media brought back from a conference held by the Journalism Association of Community Colleges at California State University, Northridge, on Saturday.
Both The Hornet and Inside Fullerton Magazine were invited to the conference. The event held lectures on various topics, from “How to Network” by Joseph Fenity to “Serving Diverse Audiences” presented by Sonari Glinton.
“I loved Joseph’s session because he was engaging, funny and gave really great tips on networking,” said Courtney Standley, attendee and staff writer for Inside Fullerton. “I like to believe the world runs on who you know and so knowing somebody who could teach it flawlessly was amazing.”
It offered professional headshots for portfolio usage as well as their annual SoCal publication and on-the-spot competitions.
Two of the five on-the-spot contests were based on the keynote presentation, where Paloma Esquivel and David Loy from the First Amendment Coalition, and crime and public safety reporter Ryanne Mena spoke about the rights, risks and protections journalists should know when covering protests.
The competing journalists wrote either news or opinion articles based on the presentation. Other competitions included social media, feature photo and a 100-question copy-editing test where participants only had one hour to complete.
The publication competition recognized work that was published in the last year, and included categories for newspaper and magazine writing, photo, multimedia and design.
Julianne Villamil from Inside Fullerton was given first place for magazine photo illustration for her work in “¡Viva la Jotería! Rejecting a Legacy of Hate, Reclaiming Our Right to Joy,” a story by the previous editor-in-chief of the magazine, Karla Garcia, which explores how Latinx individuals are reclaiming “jotería” and turning it into a term of resistance and joy.
Matthew Erboza and Juliana Vargas took home first place for the cover of Inside Fullerton’s Summer 2025 issue. The photo showed poet Jaime Rodriguez against a teal background, wearing a bold orange button-up while tipping their charro hat.
“Powerful cover! Great photo composition,” said the judges in a comment left on the submission. “Everything about this feels intentional and cohesive. This is what a professional magazine looks like!”
Orion Mena, Teddy Grimm and Bepa Perez placed the top-published podcast for their podcast, “Is AI taking jobs away from artists or revolutionizing animation?” The hosts and their guest, Brian Murray, a storyboard artist known for his work on “Ready Player One” and “Spiderman: Far From Home,” about the utilization of AI in the animation industry.
Lukas Petrina Morrison was the winner of the editorial cartoon category, for his illustratration for an article that highlighted the crossfire that student newsrooms have been caught in amid the Trump administration’s attacks against independent journalism and higher education. The article was written by The Hornet’s previous editorial board, Editor-in-Chief Dylan Arreola, Managing Editor Maria Cruz, Arts & Culture Editor Samiy Castillo Bolivar and Sports Editor Zack Gilbert.
Sal Castro was recognized as the best for his magazine profile on Sylvia Mendez, a woman who was pivotal in the landmark school desegregation lawsuit, Mendez v. Westminster.
Hornet Media also took home awards in both Online General Excellence and Magazine General Excellence, where the judges take into account everything that makes up both publications, including design layout, readability, technical quality, content and online user interface.
“It’s always gratifying to receive recognition for the projects we put so much effort towards. I’m grateful to be ranking among such high-performing student journalists,” said Arreola.
Below is a complete list of categories for which the students are finalists or award-winners:
Online General Excellence – The Hornet
Magazine General Excellence – Inside Fullerton
Design
FIRST PLACE – Editorial Cartoon – Lukas Petrina Morrison
FIRST PLACE – Photo Illustration – Julianne Villamil
SECOND PLACE – Informational Graphic – Juliana Vargas and Matthew Erboza
SECOND PLACE – Photo Illustration – Danny Diaz
Multimedia
FIRST PLACE- Podcast/Audio News – Orion Mena, Teddy Grimm, Bepa Perez
SECOND PLACE – Video/Hard News Reporting – Bryan Villa and Connor Xitco
THIRD PLACE – Online Photo Essay – Jose Gonzalez
FOURTH PLACE – Podcast/Audio News – Zack Gilbert, Travis Foerster, Omeed Motia
HONORABLE MENTION – Online Photo Essay – Eli Young
Magazine
FIRST PLACE – Magazine Cover – Julianna Vargas and Matthew Erboza
FIRST PLACE – Magazine Profile – Sal Castro
SECOND PLACE – Magazine Opinion – Madeline Rhea Sigur
THIRD PLACE – Magazine Design/Layout – Juliana Vargas and Matthew Erboza
THIRD PLACE – Magazine Photo – Nadine Baquiran
HONORABLE MENTION – Magazine News Feature – Ean Ramirez
Newspaper Writing
THIRD PLACE – News Story – Maria Cruz
FOURTH PLACE – Feature – Samiy Castillo Bolivar
HONORABLE MENTION – Profile – Zack Gilbert
HONORABLE MENTION – Column Writing – Joe Trujillo
HONORABLE MENTION – Sports Game Story – Zack Gilbert
Photo
FOURTH PLACE – Environmental Portrait – Julianne Villamil
HONORABLE MENTION – Sports Feature Photo – Eli Young
HONORABLE MENTION – Sports Action Photo – Bryan Villa
On-the-spot Contests
FIRST PLACE – Feature Photo – Eli Young
THIRD PLACE – Opinion Writing – Courtney Standley
** This article was corrected on Oct. 14, 2025, to correct a misspelled name and correct one of the prizes won. The previous version of the article spelled Juliana Vargas as Julianna Vargas. The article stated that Hornet Media won first-place for General Excellence, this award was not ranked.
