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ACMA Conference Provided Development for Students in Media
NorthWest Arkansas Community College played host to the Arkansas Association of College Media in April 2025 for its annual conference, which brought than 85 journalism and media students, as well as their advisors, from across the Natural State to attend a day of lectures and breakout sessions on the Bentonville campus. This year's theme was “Flow into Media: Connect. Create. Celebrate."
Guest speakers arrived from a wide variety of local media outlets, universities and publication vendors.
Students had the opportunity to have portfolios and sizzle reels reviewed for feedback by professionals, as well as meet with ACMA advisors.
Breakout sessions included: "Land That Job," with local hiring managers; "Capturing the Story in Sound," with KUAF Public Radio; "Taking Care of the Business Beat," with Talk Business and Politics and the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal; "She's Got Game: Women Flourishing in Sports Journalism," with 40/29 Sports, Hawgs Illustrated and UCA School of Communication; "Bringing Photos to Life: How to Style, Design and Select Images for Impact," with Little Rock's Soiree Magazine; "That's Entertainment! Claim Your Voice on the Creative Beat," with a former Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette entertainment editor; "Breaking News in the Digital Space," with television station KFSM; "What It Takes to Produce a Quality Publication" with Walsworth yearbooks; and "Creating and Sustaining a Print Publication in the Digital Age" with the Idle Class.
Arkansas Society of Professional Journalists proudly awarded $3,500 in scholarships to this year's General Excellence winners. Chelsea Castillo of NWACC Eagle View was among the students whose achievements were celebrated. Castillo was named Reporter of the Year by SPJ.
ACMA 2025 was sponsored by Gray Media, Walsworth Yearbooks, the Society of Professional Journalists, Arkansas Business Publishing Group, Paxton Media Group and Visit Bentonville.
The NWACC community would like to thank to everyone who participated in enriching these future journalism and communication professionals!
Learn more about the Arkansas College Media Association at https://acma1929.wordpress.com/ and find NWACC journalism and media offerings at https://www.nwacc.edu/academicdivisions/commart/journalismmedia.html.