On December 6, Valencia Voice Hosted End of the Year ‘Paper Plate Awards’
Award Recipients for Outstanding Student Journalism
December 8, 2022
On December 6, student reporters and contributors gathered at Downtown Campus to receive illustrious Paper Plate awards for their accomplishments this semester. Valencia Voice has excelled in student journalism with over 60 news stories, 90 photojournalism features and a number of exclusive social media stories in the 2022-2023 Fall term. This year is a testament to hard work with stories covering numerous school events and faculty, the passing of monarch Queen Elizabeth II, Hurricane Ian, global women’s rights, U.S. politics and a midterm election, Taylor Swift, and more.
Awards were given by Editor-in-Chief Jeremy Gottschalk and Copy Editor Denise DeLeon.
“Heart of the Voice”
Mackenzie Greaney. Faced with adversity, loss and a personal injury, overcame all with determination and helped me this year a success.
“Thinking Cap”
Tehsina Haq. For application of analytical research and thorough interviewing techniques.
“Holden to Hamlet”
Xiomaris Legarreta. For coverage of the School of Arts and Entertainment production.
“Who’s Trending”
Oriana Torre. For highest social media engagement across all platforms. 1568 views on Instagram story and reel, 340 post engagement, and over 500 website visits.
“Keeping It ‘Reels'”
Manu Goncalves. For excellence in content creation and storytelling as video and reel.
“Grit and Grime”
Aya Anzouk. For tough topics and hard conversations reporting.
“Red Scarf Media”
Karen Brantley. For social media management and growth of 130 new followers since Sept 5 , 13k reached, 763 accounts engaged on Instagram, 515 account engagement on Twitter.
“Weather Four Cats Award”
Diego J. Ortiz. For weather reporting and an article with early warning and prediction of the first November hurricane in 37 years to make Florida landfall, 87 years since a storm transited through the eastern coast of Florida.
“Hands Over the Ball”
Casey Godwin. For leadership and initiative, growth and involvement in multiple elements of social media, podcasting and storytelling.
“Student Spotlight”
Susana El Souki. For journalism focus on Lake Nona Campus student engagement, SGA and events.
“Watchdog Vigilance”
Roby Ganz. For investigative journalism and monitoring of the Taylor Swift album, Spotify outage, and ticket release events.
“Rejuvenaction De La Prensa En Valencia College”
Oriana Torre. For collaborative Associated Press Style articles En Espanol.
“Reign of ‘La Reina'”
Copy Editor Denise DeLeon. For continuing the legacy of Valencia Voice.
“Best Faculty Advisor”
Prof. Rebecca Newman for tireless engagement, counseling and support for student media.
Special recognition to these reporters for having their “Eye on the Storm” during Hurricane Ian.
Denise DeLeon, Jeremy Gottschalk, Melanie DeJesus, Diego Ortiz, and Xiomaris Legarreta.
Valencia Voice also recognized one West Campus Student Leader for “Rookie of the Year”. Congratulations to all of our Valencia Voice staff, writers and reporters for an incredible Fall 2022.
