Flagler College students earn two national SPJ Mark of Excellence awards

For photo, see link at the bottom

Related Media

Photo by Sarah Williamson

ST. AUGUSTINE, FL (05/09/2014)(readMedia)-- Flagler College Gargoyle students have won two national awards in the Society of Professional Journalists' Mark of Excellence competition.

Sarah Williamson, '13, took first place in the General News Photography category for her work on "Homeless, under 30 and invisible." Williamson is a former Gargoyle editor and graduated with a B.A. in Communication in December.

Hannah Bleau was named the national winner in the Online Opinion and Commentary category for a series of columns.

"The Gargoyle staff has done some incredible work this year," said Brian Thompson, adviser to The Gargoyle, Flagler's online-only, student-run newspaper. "I think it really speaks to the quality of students we have in our Communication department."

Flagler students recently won 15 awards, including five first place finishes, in the Society of Professional Journalists' 2013 Mark of Excellence Awards for Region 3, which includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. All first place winners then went on to compete nationally.

__

Flagler College is an independent, four-year, comprehensive baccalaureate college located in St. Augustine, Fla. The college offers 29 majors, 34 minors and two pre-professional programs, the largest majors being business, education and communication. Small by intent, Flagler College has an enrollment of about 2,500 students, as well as a satellite campus at Tallahassee Community College in Tallahassee, Fla. A Flagler education is less than half the cost of similar private colleges, and competitive with many state universities. A relatively young institution (founded in 1968), Flagler College is also noted for its historic beauty. The centerpiece of the campus is the former Hotel Ponce de Leon, a grand resort built in 1888 by Henry M. Flagler, industrialist, railroad pioneer and co-founder of Standard Oil. The Ponce has been designated as a National Historic Landmark. For more on Flagler College, visit www.flagler.edu.