Staff members of the Ventura County Community College District student newspaper The Student Voice enjoyed a rewarding visit to the Southern California Journalism Association of Community Colleges Conference, held Nov. 14 and 15 at Cal State Fullerton.

The conference, a series of workshops and lectures as well as a competition among community college newspapers from Southern California, took place while the Freeway Complex Fire burned close by.

"I don't think the fire had an effect on the conference," said Joanna Miller, adviser to The Student Voice and a journalism professor at Moorpark College. "There was significant ash in the air, but the show went on."

Nine members of the Voice staff attended the conference. Their paper—which covers Oxnard, Moorpark and Ventura colleges—took home nine awards in separate on-site and mail-in competitions.

"There's nothing quite as fun as hearing one of the students in your group get called up to receive an award," Miller said. "I'm proud of the work the students are doing."

The biggest moment for the Ventura County students came when the Voice received an award for General Excellence, the JACC's highest honor. To win, papers are judged on the entire content of three consecutive newspapers printed during a time period determined by the judges.

Communications major Jeremy Zeller, 21, the paper's managing editor, said the Voice staff is encouraged by the challenge of serving three campuses that are miles apart.

"I think the fact that we have to cover three campuses makes us give that extra effort that's caused us to win General Excellence," Zeller said.

A total of 32 community colleges attended this year's SoCal conference, which is traditionally smaller than the statewide JACC competition.

Arts and entertainment editor Brittany Silverstein won third place for feature writing and an honorable mention for broadcast writing

Silverstein, who has been a Moorpark College student for two years and lives in Simi Valley, said the recognition caught her by surprise because this is her first semester working on the paper.

"I was really shocked to hear my name twice," Silverstein said. "I was happy I could bring some gold home for the team."

Voice editor-in-chief Sean Greene, who lives in Thousand Oaks and is in his second year at Moorpark, won fourth place in the critical review competition. To compete, the reporters saw the play "Urinetown" and then were isolated while they wrote a review in a set time period.

David Lopez, a Thousand Oaks resident in his first semester at Moorpark and the sports editor for the paper, said he is looking forward to the statewide JACC in March.

"I'm extremely competitive, so it's nice to be a part of something that's bringing home some trophies," Lopez said. "So the competitive side of me is very happy to be a part of it. . . . Maybe next time I'll take something home."