Student Leadership Institute Members Meet with Legislators in Washington, D.C.

Pictured, Student Leadership Institute students, faculty and staff (Photo by Kelly Blanco)

The Alamo Community Colleges Student Leadership Institute (SLI) recently participated in a week-long retreat in Washington D.C. While there, students interacted with influential congressional representatives including: Senator John Cornyn, Congressperson Ciro Rodriguez, Congressperson Charlie Gonzalez, Congressperson Henry Cuellar, and Congressperson Shelia Jackson-Lee. The students also visited the Capitol, Pentagon, White House, and Library of Congress.

The Student Leadership Institute is a personal empowerment initiative that provides specialized instruction to students who set goals to acquire and/or refine their knowledge, skills, and experience for success in the educational, private, public, and nonprofit sectors.

The Student Leadership Institute is currently accepting applications for 2007-2008 academic year. Applications are available on the SLI website: http://www.accd.edu/district/soar/sli/welcome.htm.

SAC Student Newspaper Takes Multiple Awards

The Ranger student newspaper at San Antonio College won several awards in recent competitions, including being selected as the Best Non-Daily College Newspaper of the Year in Texas in the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors competition at their annual convention in San Antonio.

"This was a very competitive category, and The Ranger does the most things best," said the contest judge Mac McKerral, Coordinator for News-Editorial in the School of Journalism and Broadcasting at Western Kentucky University. Student editors during the contest period were Kristina Lindberg and Cesar G. Rodriguez.

In the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association competition against both two- and four-year college publications, The Ranger won First Place for "Recovering Lives," a collection of stories reported in East Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi four months after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Students also won 10 individual awards.

At the Region 8 convention of the Society of Professional Journalists recognizing excellence in journalism among colleges and universities in Texas and Oklahoma, The Ranger won Second Place for Best All-Around Non-Daily Student Newspaper published fewer than four times a week and Second Place in the Best Affiliated Web Site Category for http://www.theranger.org.