Advanced journalism students took the road in October to San Antonio to attend the  annual TAJE State Conference to compete in contests with other schools from all around the state.

“I expected the students to do well in the competitions because we have done this in the past,” newspaper adviser David Doerr said. “I was very proud to see the kids bring home so many individual awards.”

The students won nine individual awards in total and The Eagle’s Eye recieved second place in Best In Show for their first issue this year.

“This was my first time so I didn’t know how our work would compare to other school’s but I knew that our program had a tradition of excellence so I expected it do well,” Doerr said.

A yearbook student won two superior awards and one excellence award for his On-Site Photography in the Architecture, Open, and Sports categories.

“I had a majestic feeling being my senior year and winning three awards making my final year here at Akins a one to remember,” senior Christian Martinez said.

Senior Savannah Garza achieved an individual award for front-page design and layout.

“I felt proud because it was my last year and I feel like I achieved a lot, it feels good to get awards that recognize my page design and layout,” Garza said. “I’m also really proud of the staff because we earned second place.”

The Eagle’s Eye and Aerie staff plan on winning many more awards in the future.

“I”m hoping we earn  silver at ILPC because we’ve come a long way,” Garza said. “For us to come from a 5A school it’s pretty impressive how many award we have earned throughout the years.”