These MDC Student Publications Were Awarded Top Honors By The FCSPA
Three Miami Dade College student publications won top honors at the Florida College System Publication Association’s 65th Annual Conference and Awards Banquet in Ocala on Nov. 15.
For the 14th consecutive year, The Reporter was selected as the best two-year student newspaper in the state.
North Campus’ AXIS and Kendall Campus’ Miambiance were named the best literary magazines in Division A and B, respectively.
Judging was based on newspapers and magazines produced during the 2023-24 school year.
The Reporter placed in 14 of 19 categories, taking home first-place honors in Design, News Photo, Sports Photo, Picture Story, Feature Story, News Story, Sports Writing, Sports Column, Editorial Cartoon, Illustration and Website.
Nikole Valiente, who served as editor-in-chief of The Reporter last year, won the Inner Circle Award for receiving awards in at least three categories.
“Knowing that The Reporter was named the best newspaper in the state for the fourteenth time in a row is an honor,” Valiente said. “I’m so grateful that I’ve had the opportunity to be part of something bigger than myself.”
Since its genesis in 2010, The Reporter has garnered 208 awards from the FCSPA, including 131 first-place honors. The paper covers news across MDC’s eight campuses, prints on a monthly schedule and has a circulation of 10, 250 copies per print cycle. It’s augmented by a bi-weekly newsletter and a presence on Instagram, TikTok and X.
AXIS, who won the General Excellence Award in Division A, placed in eight of 14 categories, earning first-place awards in Design, Cover, Contents Page and Staff Page.
Volume 21 showcased a mosaic theme, featuring artworks such as poetry, photographs, illustrations and film.
“It feels great to be recognized because [the magazine] is something that every average college student wouldn’t see go past MDC, but the fact that it went past MDC, past the county, into the state, [means] the magazine is bigger than what it looks like,” said Josephine Thomas, AXIS editor-in-chief for the 2024-25 school year. “Even though we aren’t a very large team, we are small but mighty.”
On Nov. 2, the publication also won a Pacemaker Award in the Two-Year Literary Arts Magazine category at the Associated Collegiate Press/College Media Association Fall National College Media Convention.
The magazine, which printed its first volume in 2003, is augmented by a presence on Instagram.
Miambiance, who won the General Excellence Award in Division B, placed in 13 categories, receiving first-place awards in Poetry, Fiction, Design, Editing, Cover, Two-Page Design and Staff Page.
Volume 34 featured themes of family and personal growth with photographs, illustrations, short stories, poetry and music.
The publication, which launched in 1989, has a presence on Instagram and TikTok.
“We put so much hard work into these magazines and showcasing all of these students’ art, so I’m glad it’s being recognized by an institution like FCSPA,” said Megan Carrion, who served as editor-in-chief for Volumes 32 through 34. “I’m so proud.”
In other MDC student publication news, Eduardo J. Padrón Campus’ literary and arts magazine, Urbana, placed third in General Excellence in Division A. They placed in seven categories, snagging first-place awards in Poem, Fiction and Nonfiction.
Daniela Fonseca won the Debra Vasquez Award, which recognizes a student’s outstanding individual work, for her poem Volver a Casa.
Café Cultura, the literary and arts magazine at Hialeah Campus, placed in eight categories in Division A, attaining one first-place award in Editing.
Wolfson Campus’ literary and arts magazine, Metromorphosis, placed in three categories in Division B, earning a first-place award in the Poem category.
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