On Feb. 24, the Golden Arrow attended the annual Orange County Journalism Education Association (OCJEA) competition at Fullerton Community College. The publication took home many individual awards and ultimately won first place for Best of Show (Print) in the Division I category for their 2024 Winter Issue. It was the Golden Arrow’s second year in a row receiving the prestigious award.
“I’m really proud of the Golden Arrow team. I think winning Best of Show for print is a testament to our teamwork and everybody’s individual capabilities because winning the [award] revolves around our print issue, which means that everybody is contributing and each person is involved in the print process.”
— Ruby Yang, Co-Editor-in-Chief
Besides competing for the Best of Show award, 18 Golden Arrow journalists competed in various write-off and photography contests in the news, features, critical review, editorial, sports, newspaper photography, newspaper layout and novice news categories.
Contestants who were writing attended various press conferences based on the category they were competing in and had one hour to handwrite an article based on information obtained from the conferences. Several hours after the write-offs, the award ceremony commenced in the Fullerton Community College dining hall.
Senior and Arts & Entertainment Editor Arna Churiwala placed fourth in the critical review category. Similarly, junior and Sports Editor Jackson Gillies took home a fifth-place award from the sports category, having placed in sports for the second year in a row.
“This year, I felt more confident going into [OCJEA] because…I knew what to expect as far as what the competition would actually entail,” Gillies said. “I was happy to have placed this year and I’m really appreciative that the [OCJEA] judges were able to give me good advice and see some value in my piece.”
Senior and Business Manager Amal Dini took home fifth place in the critical review category, her first time doing so. Another first-time competitor was junior and Content Editor Maddie Lee who competed in newspaper layout, placing seventh. Senior and Visual Director Camille Roussel placed fourth in the newspaper photography category.
It was the first time that junior and In-Depth Editor Annabelle Ko had competed in the event and took home first place in the features category.
“Going into OCJEA, I was really nervous because it was my first time,” Ko said. “[OCJEA] was a lot more casual and relaxed than I thought. Next year, I hope to win again and I hope that [the Golden Arrow] wins more awards.”
Yang, along with many other Golden Arrow journalists, looks forward to winning more awards in the future and continuing to produce meaningful issues imbued with dedication.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing what [the] Golden Arrow has in store for next year,” Yang said. “I’m excited to see how the team works with a new group and as always, I would hope that the incoming team is able to work together and are able to set goals that they can work towards. Awards aren’t everything, but I think it would be rewarding if next year’s team is also able to win the Best of Show award for print.”
