North Bend student Elizabeth Ballinger has a lot to be proud of.

As past editor in chief of Bellevue College’s student newspaper, The Jibsheet, Ballinger and her team won a national Pacemaker Award from the Associated Collegiate Press for their online edition this year.

Honoring online college student publications annually, the ACP began in 1995 and was the first nationwide competition for online college student publications.

Judges base awards on design, integration of multimedia, ease of navigation, user-generated content, breadth of coverage, editing, graphics and interactivity.

The Jibsheet proved its quality in competition against 220 four-year and two-year colleges who entered the annual competition. Every reputable college has a student paper, but for Ballinger, the Jibsheet stands apart thanks to its representation of students.

Attending Bellevue College for two years and currently planning to transfer to a four-year college, Ballinger said the award was a result of the spirit of its writers, photographer and editors.

“Each of us acted as our if our job was our profession not just an after school thing,” she said.

The publication focused on poorly publicized student services, and addressed student issues and problems with programs, teachers, administration and their personal experiences.

“Anytime we heard a student having an experience that impacted them in a positive or negative way, we used it to address a larger audience,” she said.

The award proved to her that if you put everything you have into something that matters to you, you can accomplished it. The award was an affirmation that her efforts were worthwhile.

An English major who began writing for the paper, Ballinger’s tenacity, drive to take on extra responsibilities and countless ideas for stories made her a great candidate to become editor in chief for a quarter.

“I had a real fixation on writing the news and finding out more about what’s going on with the school,” she said.

To her, the editor’s position was a great opportunity to be in involved, not just running a student program but making the program better for students while turning it into something she and her staff could be proud of.

Ballinger’s experience and goal to major in English opens the door for a journalism career and a variety of possibilities for her in the future. She exploring volunteer opportunities such as tutoring English to children of immigrants.

“Journalism relates, because I learned a lot of grammar and language and would like to pass that on to the community,” she said. “This would be the most effective way to do that as soon as possible.”

• Check out the Bellevue College student newspaper, The Jibsheet, at ww.thejibsheet.com.