The OCCC student newspaper and staff were the recipients of over 28 awards from the Oklahoma Collegiate Media Association 2015 Annual Conference and Awards Luncheon at Oklahoma State University on Friday, April 3.

Pioneer senior writer, Jorge Krzyzaniak, said it felt really good to win the awards, but he was not surprised.

“We work really hard to put out a good product and it was reflected at the ceremony.”

Online editor, Lauren Daniel, was awarded Journalist of the Year for a 2-year college.

“I was really excited and very humbled. Out of a lot who entered, I won. I have been working here for about five semesters so just to see all my hard work and time be rewarded is awesome.”

Jake McMahon said he had never won an award in his life before this.

“Winning felt amazing. I’ve never won an award before, but even if I had…this would still feel good.”

The awards and their recipients are:

Bryce McElhaney – Pioneer Editor

• 1st Place Reporting Portfolio
• 3rd Place Feature Writing
• 3rd Place General News Writing

Jorge Krzyzaniak – Pioneer Senior Writer

• 1st Place Sports Reporting
• 2nd Place Sports Reporting
• 1st Place Feature Writing
• 1st Place Column Writing
• 1st Place Reviews

Lauren Daniel – Pioneer Online Editor

• Journalist of the Year
• 1st Place Investigative Reporting
• 2nd Place Feature Writing
• 2nd Place General News Writing
• 3rd Place Reviews
• 3rd Place Feature Photography
• Honorable Mention Column Writing

Ethan Cooper – Pioneer Photographer

• 1st Place Feature Photography

• 2nd Place Feature Photography
• 1st Place News Photography
• 1st Place Photography Portfolio
• 1st Place Sports Photography
• Honorable Mention Sports Photography

Jake McMahon – Pioneer Videographer

• 2nd Place Column Writing
• Honorable Mention Reviews

Nathan Scroggins – Pioneer Cartoonist

• 1st Cartoons
• 2nd Cartoons

Candice Shafer – Former Pioneer Community Writer

• 1^st General News Writing

Along with the individual awards, the Pioneer won 2nd place for overall paper and 1st place for online paper.

The OCMA awards are given to student media colleges and universities in Oklahoma. According to their website, ocms.okstate.edu, their purpose is to promote and improve student media at Oklahoma’s colleges and universities.

For more information about OCMA, visit http://ocma.okstate.edu.