Students in Palomar College’s Media Studies department have long been receiving armfuls of Emmys for their works in film and television, but some recent calculations showed just how impressive their results have been.

The student Emmys are awarded by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, which recognizes excellence in student production.  

Scott Richison, a Digital Broadcast Arts professor, determined that nominations were submitted for 47 Palomar College students and 35 were honored with awards since 2022. He compared that number with other community colleges and four-year universities in the society’s 19 chapters nationwide.

Richison found that Palomar College won more Emmys than any other community college in the United States in the past three years and won more Emmys than any community college or four-year university in the Pacific Southwest region that includes Palomar.

“This is so cool,” Richison said after crunching the data. “Now I’m going to come back down to earth.”

The award-winning students come from the Cinema and Digital Broadcast Arts courses within Palomar College’s Media Studies program. While the cinema program focuses on film and Digital Broadcast Arts focuses on television and streaming, the two disciplines work closely together.

Lisa Cecere, a Cinema professor, said the recent analysis of wins are just a small snapshot of the many accomplishments by Palomar College students. She said students have had their films shown at major film festivals, and many have gotten good jobs in the industry.

“I’m exceedingly proud of our students,” she said.

Cecere said students in her Cinema class learn about production of a film while learning about the wider world of movies.

“We have a very hands-on approach,” she said. “We teach technique as well as application of the equipment. You learn how to analyze films and things that are important to making a short or a feature.”

Palomar College graduate Luis Aguilar found his passion for working in television while taking Richison’s broadcast class. He began finding every opportunity he could to operate a video camera or direct teams of video operators, from filming services at his church to filming a women’s football team.

His work as technical director for Palomar College student newscasts won a student Emmy for outstanding achievement in student programming in November 2022.

Aguilar also helped out in setting up Palomar College’s Stream Team, which gives advanced broadcast students a central way to find opportunities for videography. Since its launch in Fall 2024, the Stream Team has provided more than 1,500 hours of on-the-job training for students, covered more than 80 events, and had more than 45,000 views.

Since early 2025, Aguilar has worked as technical director for Telemundo in Miami, a major market for the station. His job is to make sure the news show runs smoothly. He said he wouldn’t be in his satisfying career without his background at Palomar College.

“All I learned there brought me to where I am today,” he said.