What began with long days at layout sessions at South’s The Oracle has grown into award-winning work for Columbia Chicago College junior Sofía Oyarzún, whose photojournalism and writing earned her the Peter Lisagor award, an award that recognizes Chicago’s best journalism across media.
The Peter Lisagor award addresses both professional and collegiate journalism, given by the Society of Professional Journalists and the Chicago Headline Club, Oyarzún said. Oyarzún received two awards for work she completed in 2025, winning Best Arts and Entertainment Reporting for “Aguijón Theater: Thirty-five years stinging Chicago’s conscience,” and was a finalist for Best News Photo for “More than a dozen arrested at Broadview ICE protest as court curbs use of force” and according to headlineclub.org. While grateful to receive the award, the recognition represents much more than a personal accomplishment, Oyarzún said.
“I was really happy to see that the work I was doing was paying off,” Oyarzún said. “More importantly, it highlights the people’s stories that I am trying to tell and to share. It is not about me and what makes me the most happy is to see that these people are being listened to.”
Oyarzún’s passion for journalism developed during her four years on the staff of The Oracle, where she became increasingly involved each year and eventually served as an Images Editor on the Editorial Board, Oyarzún said. As she took on more photography and editing responsibilities, she saw how collaborative journalism can be, especially when staff members worked together to finalize each issue of the paper during layout sessions.
“As journalists, we give ourselves up to be a vessel for other people to have their stories heard,” Oyarzún said. “Developing that passion at South with The Oracle, I just love reflecting on that because within my four years, I got more and more fulfilled.”
At The Columbia Chronicle, Columbia College Chicago’s online newspaper, Oyarzún started out as a bilingual journalist and a photo journalist before becoming an editor for La Crónica, the website’s Spanish section, Oyarzún said. She will step into the role of editor-in-chief for the upcoming summer and fall semesters, Oyarzún added.
Much of her growth is credited to the support of Bob Wysocki, English Teacher and The Oracle adviser, who encouraged her to see journalism as a possible career path, Oyarzún said. Oyarzún was always trying to improve and was never afraid to ask questions in order to strengthen her work, Wysocki said. Her storytelling abilities set her apart as both a writer and photojournalist, Wysocki added.
“Her photos always told stories, and her writing was always extremely empathetic,” Wysocki said. “She was able to capture emotion around whatever she was writing, and that ability to be able to translate to the reader how people are feeling about something is a wonderful gift as a storyteller.”
Oyarzún values stories about immigration reporting, and one of the most impactful moments of her journalism career came while covering a Broadview ICE protest, the same protest photograph that earned her the Peter Lisagor award, Oyarzún said. There is a lot of risk that comes with immigration reporting, and many of the journalists around her at the Broadview ICE protest were getting shoved to the ground or arrested, Oyarzún explained. Taking photos of a situation so intense is hard to prepare for, but photography can be grounding and Oyarzún was able to stay calm despite what was going on around her.
“I am just always thinking, ‘How can I best tell people stories?’ because it really is a responsibility to have someone’s stories and words in your hand,” Oyarzún said.
Even as she gained more experience and recognition, one challenge she has continued working through is overcoming the fear of approaching strangers for interviews and balancing the fast-paced nature of reporting, Oyarzún said.
“What I had to work on was not letting the fear of making people uncomfortable stop me from asking a question, because sometimes all it takes is a question,” Oyarzún said. “The act of asking people about their story is a really important thing, and shying away from it is only going to reduce your opportunities.”
Every assignment, whether it is a major event or smaller campus story, deserves the same level of care and attention, Oyarzún said. Journalism is understanding the responsibility that comes with telling other people’s stories, Oyarzún explained.
“When you take the time to slow down and listen to people around you, and understand that even if it is a story that might seem more microscopic, it is equally as important to tell,” Oyarzún said.
Journalism is a constant learning process that takes Oyarzún outside of herself and into the lives of others, which is what she finds most meaningful, Oyarzún said.
“You just never stop learning with this career, and I love it,” Oyarzún said. “When I go out to an assignment that has nothing to do with who I am, it is about these people and that is what fulfills me the most. It is beautiful.”