Journalism Students Clean Up at SFPC Awards 2025

By Alejandra Cardenas

City College journalism students walked away winning 16 awards at last year's 48th Annual Greater Bay Area Journalism Awards hosted by the San Francisco Press Club.

Students with work published in both The Guardsman and Etc. Magazine were recognized in the College Media Category. 

Cover Design

Second Place: Sebastien Thugnet, “Etc. Magazine 2025”, Etc. Magazine

Editorial Cartoon

First Place: Cindy Chan, “Moving Forward”, The GuardsmanThird Place: Cindy Chan, “Tariffs?”, The Guardsman 

Feature Layout Design

First Place: Tiffany Lam, “90 Years of History: Tracing the Rise of City College”, The Guardsman

Feature Story / Light Subject

Third Place: Ellen Yoshitsugu, “What Are the Odds: The Identical Twins Who Have Served CCSF for Decades”, Etc. Magazine

Front Page Design

Second Place: Isabelle Salvadori, Tiffany Lam, John R. Adkins, “The Guardsman Vol. 179, Issue 4”, The Guardsman Third Place: Isabelle Salvadori, Tiffany Lam, “The Guardsman Vol. 179, Issue 5”, The Guardsman 

General News Story 

First Place: John R. Adkins, “City College's Grounded Aeronautics Program May Find Runway Yet”, The Guardsman

Headline

Third Place: John R. Adkins, “City College's Grounded Aeronautics Program May Find Runway Yet”, The Guardsman

Investigative Reporting 

First Place: Abby Sigler, Marrion Cruz, Tom Whitehead, “Ghost Students at City College”, The Guardsman 

Photography / Feature

Second Place: Kyra Young, “Mexika New Year”, The Guardsman

Photography / News 

First Place: Kyra Young, “City College Board of Trustees Faces Overwhelming Testimonies to Restore Classes and Laid-off Faculty”, The Guardsman

Photography / Photo Series

Second Place: Bob Kinoshita, “Women's Soccer Team Shuts Out San Joaquin 3-0”, The Guardsman 

Photography / Sports

Second Place: Bob Kinoshita, “Rams Win Water Polo Shootout 16-11”, The Guardsman

Feature Layout Design

Third Place: Xiaoyi Yu, “Franchon Smith Ends Her Years as City College's Beloved Rocky the Ram,” Etc. Magazine

Columns-News/Political

Third Place: Emily Thorsen, “Emily Thorsen's Column”, The Guardsman

Journalism Department Chair Juan Gonzales, who also serves as faculty advisor to The Guardsman, commended the caliber of the recognition. 

“The San Francisco Press Club is a very prestigious organization, and for our students, to be recognized for their excellence in their work, as photographers, as writers, as illustrators, as designers, is really big,” Gonzales said. He felt good about his students receiving these awards, adding that it would set them up for great success in the field of journalism.

Cindy Chan brought home first and third place in the Editorial Cartoon Category. Cindy was in awe of winning her two awards. “I’m still walking on cloud 9, like wow,” she said.

Kyra Young, who took first place in the Photography / News category for photographs, which accompanied the news article “City College Board of Trustees Faces Overwhelming Testimonies to Restore Classes and Laid-off Faculty,” published back in Oct. 2024. She thought it was awesome to see her name projected on a screen in a room full of talented professionals. 

The San Francisco Press Club was founded in 1963. The non-profit organization has provided professionals in journalism with opportunities to connect and grow. According to the SF Press Club website, the club provides services to the following counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Sonoma.