Et Cetera Editor in Chief Skye Seipp, far left, and creative director Anthony Lazon.
The Et Cetera student newspaper won the prestigious Pacemaker Award, considered the student journalism equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize, for its website, eastfieldnews.com, at the National Student Media Convention on Nov. 3.
Online Pacemakers were given to 20 student media organizations across the country, only four from two-year colleges. The Et Cetera was also one of 46 national finalists for a Newspaper Pacemaker, and only nine of those finalists were from two-year colleges.
Additionally, Editor in Chief Skye Seipp was selected as one of 10 national finalists for the Associated Collegiate Press/Ernie Pyle Award for Two-Year Reporter of the Year.
Other current and former Et Cetera staffers were honored for their individual work.
David Silva, third place Pinnacle Award for Best Profile
Anthony Lazon, honorable mention Pinnacle Award for Best Breaking News Photo
James Hartley, honorable mention ACP award for Best Multimedia Sports Package
Jesus Madrid, honorable mention ACP award for Best Comic Panel/Strip
Esther Moreno, honorable mention ACP award for Best Advertising Brochure/Rate Card
The Eastfield Experience, the paper's 56-page new student guide, also received an honorable mention in the Pinnacle Awards for best special edition.
Those prizes were for work during the 2018-2019 academic year.
The Et Cetera also won its first first-place Best of Show trophy for Best Website and also took fourth place for Best Special Section and eighth place for Best Multimedia Package. These prizes are awarded for recent work and are judged during the convention.
Seipp and Lazon attended the convention, which provided workshops and access to professional journalists from a number of media outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post and NPR. During the visit, the staff discovered that The Newseum had featured The Et Cetera in a display recognizing 2019 as the Year of the Student Journalist.