Addy Awards offer multiple benefits for La Sierra A+D students

 

La Sierra lands record awards at American Advertising Federation event

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- When Bethsy Carballo entered the American Advertising Federation’s Addy Awards regional competition for the first time earlier this year, she didn’t expect to win. The email that arrived announcing her placement was a surprise.

<p> Graphic design major Bethsy Carballo won three Addy Awards her first time entering the competitive event earlier this year. </p>

Graphic design major Bethsy Carballo won three Addy Awards her first time entering the competitive event earlier this year.

<p> Bethsy Carballo's packaging design for Lily's Carob Dog Treats, a Bronze Addy Award winner. </p>

Bethsy Carballo's packaging design for Lily's Carob Dog Treats, a Bronze Addy Award winner.

“I had made four submissions but I didn’t know which one of the four, or how many of the four,” said the senior La Sierra University graphic design major. “Regardless of that, I felt very happy and accomplished. With the email itself I felt recognized, which was very encouraging to keep putting all my effort into my future projects. It is a blessing that we get to be part of events like the Addy Awards.”

Carballo was among 16 students in La Sierra’s Art+Design (A+D) department who won Addy Awards last March via the Inland Empire chapter of the American Advertising Federation, or AAF. Three of her four submissions captured awards in the editorial spread feature, packaging, and magazine design categories with a respective silver and two bronze student Addys.

Altogether, La Sierra University students and faculty won 39 Addys at the annual recognition banquet held at Riverside’s Mission Inn, the most of any organization in the region. These included two professional gold Addys, one each for A+D associate professors Terrill Thomas and Tim Musso as well as three professional silvers for Thomas. Three student golds went to recent A+D graduates Blake Walker and Angela Childs who respectively won one and two gold Addys for work completed while at La Sierra. A+D students also garnered a total of 10 student silver Addy Awards and 21 bronze awards.

"I learned that it is important to put yourself out there, ...to not miss out on opportunities." -- Bethsy Carballo, graphic design major

A Silvery Addy Award-winning design by Bethsy Carballo for the Editorial Spread Feature category.

Art+Design students have entered work in the federation’s regional competitions off and on over the past two decades with a concerted effort made during the past five years to encourage all A+D majors to exhibit their advertising artwork in the event, noted Thomas who serves as A+D department chair. Over the past three years, the department has paid for its students to attend the advertising awards gala which showcases top commercial design and advertising by local agencies.

“The benefit is threefold,” Thomas says. “Our students have their work along with students from a dozen local colleges judged by an independent panel; selection of their work for an award is an affirmation that what they are learning has value outside of class; [and] they can compete in the real world.” Additionally, participation provides an opportunity to form professional connections which sometimes leads to internships and employment, he said. “[And] dressing up for a fancy awards gala that celebrates your work, your peers and faculty is an incredible bonding experience strengthening the internal creative core of our community.”

"Selection of their work for an award is an affirmation that what they are learning has value outside of class." -- Terrill Thomas, Chair, Art+Design Department

For Carballo, the Addy Awards experience also shored up her confidence. “I learned that it is important to put yourself out there, to not be scared of rejection, to not miss out on opportunities just because of self-doubt,” she said.

Carballo will graduate next June with a major in graphic design and a minor in communication. Presently she is studying and working with a marketing company that serves law firms and other legal services organizations. She is also working on personal projects and with a film production team, building her portfolio in preparation for graduation and job applications.

As an artist she works mostly in the digital realm with Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Procreate and Digital Photography. But the process typically starts with a pen and paper “to get ideas down,” she said. “I enjoy sketching my surroundings or people. For these I use pens and markers as well as black and white charcoal. I recently had a printmaking class, so I’ve been experimenting with creating something digitally and then passing it on to a physical material such as ink on a piece of fabric, paper, or wood.”

A native of Mexico, Carballo arrived in the United States at age 11 and lived in different states. She is not certain of her location plans after graduation in 2023, she said, but looks forward to new journeys. “I’m excited to see where I go next and if it’s in a place where I’m not familiar, then that’s okay. In A+D I have learned to seek new adventures and explore beyond my surroundings. New places just mean I get to experience new things and meet new people.”

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