Date: 12/01/2009

Fernando Djohan and Chao-Chen Kao, interior design students, placed in the Planning and Visual Education Partnership Student Design Competition. Djohan won third place and $1,500. Chao-Chen Kao won an honorable mention and $500. Both will travel to New York to receive their prizes.

Taryn Hanano, a student in the master's in urban planning program, received the American Planning Association's National Leadership Award for a Student Planner. This is the second consecutive year the award went to SJSU. Students from all U.S. urban planning schools are eligible, but only one is selected. Hanano is a long-range planner for her hometown, Fremont.

Sam Sirico, a radio, television and film major, won best comedy at the Campus Moviefest Western Regional Grand Finale. His flick, "Top of Her Class," was among 75 pieces from 15 colleges featured at the event. The movie was produced by the student film club, the Film Production Society. Watch the winning films.

Four SJSU students received recognition at the 2009 California State University Media Arts Festival. Andrew Harkins won a first-place Rosebud Award for his television entry, "Mark Kistler's Imagination Station." Kellie Rice won a first-place Rosebud Award for her feature screenplay, "Daughters of the Wind." Kevin Eitel won second place for his feature screenplay, "The Imaginaries." Gerin Williams won second place for his short screenplay, "Paper Friends." Harkins and Rice each won $500 cash prizes, plus a total of $500 was donated to the SJSU Department of Radio, Television, Film and Theatre.

An SJSU student team placed third at the National Paperboard Packaging Design Competition. The team received $1,000 to share, $1,000 for the packaging program, and two $1,000 academic scholarships. The packaging field incorporates engineering, graphic design, project management, advertising and material science. Every product manufactured, from health care and beauty products to washing machines and drugs, requires packaging. SJSU's program is one of a handful in the United States.