Armed with a degree in mass communication with a concentration in journalism and a wealth of hands-on experience, Santana is ready to make his mark in the fast-paced and dynamic field of broadcast journalism.

鈥淚 am super grateful for 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock and the journey I鈥檝e gone through,鈥� Santana said. 鈥淐oming here was the best decision I made in my academic career. I can鈥檛 wait to see where my career takes me.鈥�

As he prepares to take the next step in his career, Santana reflected on the inspiration and skills he has learned through three internships. He spent two summers interning with the Dumas Clarion newspaper through the Arkansas Newspaper Foundation鈥檚 Summer Internship Program. His internship was specially sponsored by donations from the Arkansas Press Women, the Dumas Chamber of Commerce, Dumas Economic Development, and Merchants & Farmers Bank of Dumas in memory of Charlotte Tillar Schexnayder, who owned and published The Dumas Clarion for 44 years with her husband Melvin.

鈥淭he Dumas Clarion built my journalism knowledge, and they created a stepping stone for me to enter the journalism field, and I will forever be grateful for them,鈥� Santana said. 鈥淚 learned how to find local news, how to network, and how to attend press conferences. The last two summers went very well. I learned everything I needed to learn as a young journalist.鈥�

During the fall 2023 semester, Santana had the opportunity to intern at KATV, where he worked with Brenda Lepenski and decided that he wanted to work in broadcast journalism.

鈥淚t was a really exciting internship. I learned how the everyday life of a broadcast journalist works,鈥� he said. 鈥淭ime management is really important. Brenda taught me a lot and gave me so much great advice. I鈥檓 very excited about going into broadcasting.

Now that his college career is coming to an end, Santana expressed gratitude to Linna Jones and Rick Wright from the Dumas Clarion, as well as Professors Tim Edwards, Jamie Byrne McCollum, Kiel Thorlton, and Sonny Rhodes from 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 School of Mass Communication for helping him build his skills as a journalist.

At 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, Santana also serves as a reporter and photographer for the student newspaper, the Forum, as well as co-vice president and social media chair for the Hispanic/Latinx Initiative. He was recently inducted into the Kappa Tau Alpha honor society, where he received the Top Scholar Award for having the highest GPA of a graduating student.

For other students who are thinking about going to college, Santana鈥檚 advice for them is to get involved in campus life.

鈥淭his is what I learned during my first year of college when I was really stuck at my dorm,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 feel like college is about more than just receiving a degree. You need to make friends, network, participate in student organizations, and connect with people who will help you in your journey.鈥�

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Among the top awards, Chloe McGehee, a senior mass communication major who will graduate in May and executive editor of The Forum, was named Newspaper Editor of the Year.

鈥淢ost of these staff members won these awards for their first year on staff, and it was an extremely competitive year,鈥� McGehee said. 鈥淚 am really proud of everything my staff was able to accomplish, and even if a member did not win an award, we all contributed to a third place overall. And of course it was pretty amazing to win Editor of the Year as kind of a final goodbye to The Forum.鈥�

Meanwhile, Jacobb Nichol received third place in the Photographer of the Year Award, and The Forum received third place for the Newspaper General Excellence category.

The awards were presented during an April 14 ceremony at Harding University in Searcy.

The Arkansas College Media Association is composed of private and public colleges and universities throughout the state, including Arkansas State University, Arkansas Tech University, Central Baptist College, Harding, Ouachita Baptist University, Northwest Arkansas Community College, and the University of Central Arkansas.

鈥淚鈥檓 elated for the staff,鈥� said Sonny Rhodes, Forum adviser. 鈥淭his is, by far, the most awards the staff has won in at least a decade, maybe ever. If you consider the variety of categories in which they won awards you get an idea of the enormous breadth of their talent. I鈥檓 very proud of them and grateful for all their hard work.鈥�

The Forum competed in the ACMA鈥檚 newspaper division. The 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock winners, places of finish, and categories are:

• Chloe McGehee: Honorable Mention, Newspaper Personality Profiles; Third Place, Newspaper Feature Page Layout; and Third Place, Newspaper Sports Photo
• Bryan Hernandez: First Place, Newspaper Review Writing; First Place, Newspaper Sports Photo
• Chloe McGehee and Bryan Hernandez: Second Place, Newspaper Meeting/Speech Coverage
• Skylar Boone and Chloe McGehee: First Place, Newspaper Feature Page Layout
• Jacobb Nichol: Second Place, Newspaper News Photo
• Joe Santana: First Place, Newspaper Feature Photo
• Vivian Angeles: Third Place, Newspaper Review Writing
• Ahad Nadeem: Honorable Mention, Newspaper General Column
• Maddie Becker (Graduated): Honorable Mention, Newspaper Sports Feature Writing
• Azalea Andrade (Graduated): First Place, Newspaper Personality Profiles; Third Place, Newspaper Headlines
• Andi Benbrook and Chloe McGehee: Honorable Mention, Newspaper Front Page Layout
• Emily Reynolds: First Place, Newspaper Illustration

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