Alumni, Pendulum students named regional winners in journalism competition

Elon University students from The Pendulum, a student news media organization, and alumni were honored in April with several Mark of Excellence Awards — including eight regional winners — at the Society of Professional Journalists Region 2 conference in Richmond, Virginia.

Alumnus Al Drago ’15 was named a regional winner in four photography categories for work he freelanced and completed for student media. Alumna Katy Canada ’15 was also named regional winners for multimedia journalism work they produced. The student winners included Stephanie Hays ’18 and Hali Tauxe-Stewart ’18, Leena Dahal ’17 and Alex Simon ’17.

Region 2 awards were given in newspaper, TV, radio, arts/graphics and online categories. Awards are given to regional winners and finalists, with the winners moving on to the national competition, at which time they will compete with winners from the other 11 regions. Region 2 comprises North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Delaware. Below is the list of winners and finalists.

• WINNER – Leena Dahal ’17 for General Column Writing for “Take a stand against cultural appropriation,” “Learning beyond 5 little letters,” and “Sharing the Phoenix spirit with Nepal during her recovery”
• WINNER – Katy Canada ’15 for In-Depth Reporting for “Unaccompanied minors seek new homes and lives in NC”
• WINNER – Alex Simon ’17 for Sports Writing for “Football attempts to move on to new ‘normalcy’”
• WINNER – Stephanie Hays ’18 and Hali Tauxe-Stewart ’18 for Photo Illustration for “Up in Smoke”
• WINNER – Al Drago ’15 for Breaking News Photography
• WINNER – Al Drago ’15 for Feature Photography
• WINNER – Al Drago ’15 for General News Photography
• WINNER – Al Drago ’15 for Sports Photography
• FINALIST – Tommy Hamzik ’17 for General News Reporting for “Stadium becomes shelter as community celebrates Elon junior”
• FINALIST– Leena Dahal ’17 for General News Reporting for “Reported bias incidents rise on campus”
• FINALIST – Hali Tauxe-Stewart ’18 for General News Photography for “From Acorn to Disney World”
• FINALIST – Stephanie Hays ’18 for Photo Illustration for “Rankings, realities and varied experiences”
• FINALIST – Al Drago ’15 for General News Photography

National winners and finalists will be honored at the SPJ Excellence in Journalism conference Sept. 19 in New Orleans. Last year, Michael Bodley ’16 and Drago were named national SPJ winners. Bodley won for Breaking News Reporting, and Drago won for Breaking News Photography, General News Photography and Feature Photography.

Alumna Mary Kate Brogan ’14, a production editor at the Daily Press in Newport News, Virginia, attended the Region 2 conference and accepted the awards on behalf of the winners.