The Trend came, saw, and conquered the Oklahoma Collegiate Media Association (OCMA) Conference as they won 12 different awards in the Diamond Division, including two 1st place, four 2nd place, and six 3rd place awards. The Diamond Division allows The Trend to go head-to-head with nine other universities. The awards covered a multitude of categories, ranging from reviews to photography to cartoon drawings. 

The two 1st place recipients were Gary Jackson, a Communication major, and Thomas Buchanan, an Art major. Jackson received 1st place in the reviews category for his song review over “Cigarettes” by Juice WRLD. Jackson’s article was The Trend’s most viewed article for the fall trimester. In the fall trimester, Buchanan made history at The Trend with the first publication of a comic. Buchanan nominated three different comics nominated and captured 1st place.

The 2nd place winners include Emily Loughridge, a Communication major and Editor-in-Chief of The Trend, Cortni Taylor, a History major, and Laura Barrios Bardi, an Art major.  

Loughridge had a spectacular performance, winning five different awards overall. She won 2nd place in editorial writing, 3rd place in general news and reporting, 3rd place in news photography, 3rd place with her photography portfolio, and 3rd place with her reporting portfolio. Loughridge said she was not only proud of herself, but proud of how The Trend performed as a whole. 

“Seeing professionals in our field, what our students can accomplish, and actually being recognized with an award for their work, I don’t think there is anything like that,” said Loughridge.   

 Taylor won 2nd place in the review category for her movie review “Don’t Look Up,” which is a 2021 Netflix Comedy/Drama movie. Finally, Barrios Bardi won two 2nd place awards. The first award was for her sports photography and the second for her photography portfolio. 

The 3rd place recipients are Bethany Sackett and Mary-Grace McNutt, two Communcation majors. Sackett received 3rd place with her “A Very Drover Valentine” editorial article. McNutt’s award was in feature photography for her “No Vacancy” photo essay.  

While they did not receive any awards, Paul Tointigh, a Communication major and Managing Editor for The Trend, and Caleb Smith, a Biology major, attended the event with The Trend. Tointigh had this to say about his experience from the conference  

“I really think this event will help me in my future for The Trend, because we will take what we learned here and apply it,” said Tointigh, as he looks forward to helping The Trend continue its success in the upcoming year. 

The Trend was ecstatic to return home with their abundance of awards from this year’s OCMA conference and looks forward to adding onto their winnings next year. 

Gary Jackson is a second-year Communication major at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.