Hawkeye’ staff earns awards in journalism competitions
“The Hawkeye” represented well at the Southeastern Journalism Conference, earning five top-10 finishes.
Senior Srdjan Marjanovic placed second for best graphic designer and fourth for best press photo. Junior Cole Avery finished third for best news reporter. Senior Kelsey Hargrove earned ninth in best editorial cartoon/illustration.
Senior DeRon Talley placed second in the on-site sports reporting competition.
“This is an important time for our paper,” said Avery, the paper’s editor in chief. “This year’s awards build a solid foundation for our paper, and we are excited at the opportunity to continue to grow.”
Christopher Mapp, director of Student Publications, said “These awards are tangible evidence of the students’ hard work, creativity, perseverance and professionalism. I could not be any prouder of them or their achievements.”
Mapp, an assistant professor of mass communication, said the awards were also a testimony to the type of “first-class education” students at ULM receive.
“This staff competed and won against universities and colleges throughout the Southeast and went toe-to-toe with SEC, C-USA and other SunBelt schools,” Mapp said. “While the awards were won by individuals on the Hawkeye staff, these
are victories that can be shared by everyone who loves ULM and believes in its value and potential,” .
The conference was held at the University of Tennessee at Martin on Friday and Saturday and hosted 26 schools from 11 states in the region.
Student journalists competed in several categories of the Best in the South against power house schools such as the University of Alabama, University of Mississippi and Union University. This is the first time in years ULM has been represented at the conference.
Kara Kidwell, student president of the 2012 SEJC, said the conference wants more schools to join because SEJC shows “the cream of the crop” in student journalism.
“When schools like ULM show up to these conferences, it shows they have the chops to compete with the best of them,” Kidwell said.
