College of San Mateo’s student-run newspaper, The San Matean, and its Web site have won top honors from the Northern California section of the Journalism Association of Community Colleges. The awards were announced at the end of a day-long conference in San Jose on Saturday. (Read the San Matean’s release.)

The editor in charge of the publications was Alexis Terrazas, now 20 and a journalism major who has received a several awards and scholarships.

“Our performance last semester and the awards we received couldn’t be possible without the entire staff we had,” said Terrazas, who is Online Editor for The San Matean this fall and will transfer to a four-year college journalism program next spring. Terrazas was awarded the San Francisco Peninsula Press Club’s Herb Caen Scholarship in 2006, then was chosen for a $1,000 scholarship from the California Chicano News Media Association. He was selected for a $1,500 internship program last summer from the California Newspaper Publishers Association.

Danny Castro served as managing editor last spring and is The San Matean’s print editor this semester. “I’m really proud of the staff,” he said. “We did a lot of work, learned on the job and it paid off.”

CSM Journalism students also won several awards in individual categories. Terrazas won an Honorable Mention for profile articles. Staff writer Chris Godowski also earned an Honorable Mention for sports writing. Castro collected third place honors for Opinion writing in a contest held at the conference under deadline pressure.

“These students and their commitment to work while providing a service and taking responsibility for their errors demonstrate the best in young people,” said Ed Remitz, CSM Journalism adviser and Press Club board member. “It is wonderful to watch them improve over time and have others honor them for their efforts.”