Journalism students win awards in regional competition

Published

Nine journalism students at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette earned 10 awards in Southeast Journalism Conference competitions.

The awards were presented during the SEJC’s 29th annual convention that was held Friday and Saturday at Georgia State University in Atlanta.

Six awards were in the annual Best of the South competition, which are given each calendar year to the top 10 entries in categories that feature print, radio and television journalism.

Three awards were for onsite competitions that were held during the convention in print, radio and television journalism categories.

Students who earned awards in the Best of the South competition are:

  • Jonathon Nugent, a senior broadcasting major from Lafayette, who won a second place in radio hard news reporting;
  • Heather Hailar, a senior broadcasting major from Denham Springs, La., who won a third place for radio feature;
  • Elizabeth Newell, a senior broadcasting major from Metairie, La., who won a fourth place for radio feature;
  • William Keller, a senior broadcasting major from Lafayette, who won a fifth place as best radio journalist;
  • Ali Cortez, who received her journalism degree in December and is from Kramer, La., won sixth place in the best magazine writer category; and
  • Ashley Hinson, a senior English major from Lafayette, who won seventh place in arts and entertainment writing.

Students who earned awards in the onsite competition are:

  • Jordan Arceneaux, a senior journalism major from Lafayette, who won first place in sportswriting;
  • Kailey Broussard, a freshman journalism major from Lafayette, who won second place in feature writing;
  • Holly Duchmann, a junior journalism major from Pearl River, who won a second place in newswriting; and
  • Hinson, who won third in arts and entertainment writing.

UL Lafayette placed third in the onsite competition.

Students from about 33 schools in seven states participated in the SEJC.

The SEJC is composed of about 45 colleges and universities in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.

To learn more about the Southeast Journalism Conference, visit sejc.org.