Eleven students have been recognized by “the nation’s most broad-based journalism organization.”
The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) announced the winners and finalists in a press release on Monday; it included 11 TCU students.
TCU graduates Kezhal Shah-Hosseini and Mercedes Ynocencio won the award for online in-depth reporting, while junior Abbie Maynard won an award for television sports reporting.
Other students and graduates finished as finalists for a wide range of awards.
The students competed among other colleges in the large school category with at least 10,000 students according to the SPJ press release.
Shah-Hosseini had ovarian cancer during her college years and wanted to share the experience by shadowing two other TCU students going through a similar struggle.
“I started tearing up because I didn’t really think it would happen,” Shah-Hosseini said. “The fact that something I went through and these girls went through resonated with people and were moved by it.”
“I wanted people to know what it’s like to have cancer in college because it sucks,” Shah-Hosseini said. “You lose friends, I couldn’t graduate with my class, and it changes your whole perspective in life.”
Shah-Hosseini and Ynocencio story followed two TCU students, senior Molly O’Neill and first-year student Taylor Helland, as they went through the college experience while fighting cancer.
The multi-platform story was completed last semester before Shah-Hosseini and Ynocencio graduated last December.
All nominees were notified of their nomination three weeks ago, Shah-Hosseini said.
All entries came from colleges and universities in Texas and Oklahoma and were judged by professional journalists with at least three years of experience, according to a press release from SPJ.
The two award-winners will now compete against the 11 other SPJ regions for national honors, which will be announced later this spring, according to the press release.
The TCU winners and finalists include:
- Winner, Online In-Depth Reporting: Kezhal Shah-Hosseini and Mercedes Ynocencio
- Winner, Television Sports Reporting: Abbie Maynard
- Finalist, Best Student Magazine: Staff, Image Magazine
- Finalist, Online In-Depth Reporting: Kaitlyn Beckert and Rachel Rudd
- Finalist, Television In-Depth Reporting: Evan Recatune, Allie Snyder, Ryann Harris
- Finalist: Online Sports Reporting: Samantha Calimbahin
- Finalist, Online Feature Reporting: Israel Cano
- Finalist, Television Feature Reporting: Samantha Calimbahin