The Accent, ACC’s student newspaper, won 36 awards at the recent Texas Intercollegiate Press Association convention, including the prestigious sweepstakes award for its division and first place for overall excellence. Accent also received honorable mention for best in show

Assistant Editor Era Sundar (with newspaper) and Editor-in-Chief Natalie Casanova (with plaque) celebrate their awards with Student Life staff and the Board of Trustees.

Accent staff won awards in several of the on-site contests:

·        Assistant Editor Era Sundar, 1st place in Radio News Writing

·        Web Editor Dana Manickavasagam, 2nd place in Sports Photography

·        Staff Writer Layla Elayyadi, 2nd place in News Photography

·        Editor-in-Chief Natalie Casanova, 3rd place in Critical Review

·        Staff Writer Abra Gist, Honorable Mention in Feature Writing

The competition included more than 400 participants representing 46 colleges from across the state.

“I am so proud. Each year, Accent students continue to shine brighter than the year before,” says Cheryl Richard, director of Student Life. “I believe our students compete well at state and national levels because of the partnership between our hands-on student media program and the outstanding ACC instructors. The newspaper is like a real-world lab that complements what students learn in class.”

Accent staff also recently placed in the national College Media Association Best of Collegiate Design 19 contest. Former web editor Chris Scott won fourth place for his front page design, and former layout editor Elizabeth Brown received second and fifth places for informational graphics.

“The Accent staff is a very talented group, and it’s nice for them to receive this sort of recognition,” says Jamie Lay, editorial adviser to the Accent.