Contact: Juliet V. Casey, jcasey@losmedaonos.edu, (925) 473-7322
Journalism Adviser Cindy McGrath, (925) 473-7827, mcgrath@losmedanos.edu
From left, front row: Students Koen Steers, Elizabeth Jacobo and Ava Mendez, and adviser Cindy McGrath
Pittsburg, Calif. -- The Los Medanos College Experience won 18 awards in the 2025 Northern Regional Publication contest of the Journalism Association of Community Colleges, presented at the annual regional journalism conference held Oct. 25 at San Jose State University.
The student news organization won General Excellence in the Publications Contest for its print edition published during the 2024-25 academic year.
In addition to the Experience staff General Excellence win, 13 current and former Experience staff members won 17 individual and team awards in a variety of writing, photography, design and new media contests:
Meritorious awards
- Enterprise News Story/Series: Campus Editor Lauren Gannod for a pair of stories on the two candidates running for the Ward 5 seat on the Contra Costa Community College Governing Board.
- Multimedia Journalism Package: Online Editor Koen Steers, and former managing editors Angella Dorado and Finn Atkin for a collaborative story on scrapbooking.
First Place awards
- Editorial: Editor-in-Chief Chijioke Onyeagucha for “On the ballot: Our picks — Races & propositions.”
- Front Page Layout: Former Editor-in-Chief Gabbie Munoz for Page 1 design of the Experience
- Video Hard News Reporting: California Humanities Emerging Journalist Fellowship team Jordan Suisala, Aliyah Ramirez, Gabbie Munoz and Darcy Meadows for the documentary film “Define American” about local immigrants.
Second Place
- Editorial Cartoon: Former Managing Editor Finn Atkin for a cartoon on Vice President JD Vance as “The boy Who Lied.
- Informational Graphic: Editor-in-Chief Chijioke Onyeagucha, former Editor-in-Chief Gabbie Munoz and former Managing Editor Finn Atkin for the presentation of Experience candidate endorsements in the 2024 election.
- Opinion Story: Online Editor Koen Steers and Arts & Culture Editor Michael Pacheco for a package on due process.
- Podcast/Audio News: Former Experience staff member Jordan Suisala for Episode 1 of the podcast Unmuted: Representation Speaks Volumes.
Third Place
- Illustration: Former Managing Editor Finn Atkin for an illustrative graphic on censorship.
Fourth Place
- Column Writing: Editor-in-Chief Chijioke Onyeagucha for a pair of stories: “Fear-based politics divides U.S.” and “A means to define blurred lines.”
- Feature Story: Former Managing Editor Angella Dorado and former Online Editor Lesly Fisiiahi for an article about learning from embarrassing moments.
- Informational Graphic: Former Editor-in-Chief Michael Benedian for a graphic on the Pomp and Circumstances of Graduation.
- News Photo: Former Experience staff member Ashley Reitz for a photograph of a Fire Academy training.
Honorable Mention
- News Story: Former Editor-in-Chief Gabbie Munoz and former Managing Editor Angella Dorado for the article entitled, “LMC shut down due to power outage.”
- Opinion Story: Former page editor Jordan Suisala for an opinion article on book banning.
- Sports Action Photo: Former Editor-in-Chief Juan Cebreiros for a photo of Los Medanos College quarterback Garrett Deatherage stiff-arming a De Anza defensive back in a home game Oct. 5, 2024.
Experience adviser Cindy McGrath praised the work of the LMC student journalists who won awards at the conference and emphasized that their pursuit and achievement of excellence continues day-in and day-out as they produce each new issue of the campus newspaper and update the accompanying online news site.
“The staff is filled with dedicated and creative students, and I am proud of the work they do every week,” said McGrath. “Awards are a nice acknowledgment of their efforts, but the real prize is the experience that the experience that is preparing them for transfer to four-year schools, or for jobs in print, online or broadcast media when they leave LMC.”
Several of the winners announced this weekend have already transferred to UC Irvine and Fresno State, San Francisco State and State Jose State universities.
About Los Medanos College (LMC): LMC is one of three colleges in the Contra Costa Community College District serving the East Contra Costa County community. Established in 1974, LMC has earned federal designations as a Minority-Serving and Hispanic-Serving institution. It offers award-winning transfer and career-technical programs, support services, and diverse academic opportunities in an inclusive learning environment. With exceptional educators, innovative curriculum, growing degree and certificate offerings, and state-of-the-art facilities, the college prepares students to succeed in their educational pursuits, in the workforce, and beyond. LMC’s Pittsburg Campus is located on 120 acres bordering Antioch, with an additional education center in Brentwood.