Rebecca Villagracia, from Orange County, CA, is currently pursuing a BFA in Photojournalism at Rochester Institute of Technology.
Rebecca is based in Rochester, NY and is a photographer for RIT Athletics. She was previously a photo intern at The Minnesota Star Tribune, MLive.com/The Ann Arbor News, The Morning Call, and the Press Enterprise in eastern Pennsylvania, and was a photo trainee for the World Curling Federation. She learned a lot about community journalism, working in a remote newsroom, and how to manage time efficiently to photograph multiple assignments every day. Rebecca is passionate about always finding a new sport to photograph and bringing a creative approach.
Photo by: Travis LaCoss
Awards & Honors:
Second Place-Sports Photography | 2025 SPJ-Detroit Chapter: Excellence in Journalism awards
Gold-Sports Action | 2024 College Photographer of the Year 79
First Place-Sports Photo | Fall 2024 Associated Collegiate Press Clips & Clicks Contest
Third Place-Feature + Fourth Place-Sports Action | 2024 California Journalism Awards College Division
Honorable Mention-Sports Feature | 2024 RIT NPPA "What We Do" Contest
Workshop Recipient | 2024 NCAA Photos Women's Final Four