The UConn Journalism Department finished the 2025-2026 academic year with three winners in the prestigious Hearst Journalism Awards contest, including a national Top Five, a national Top Ten winner and a national Top 20 winner.
Karla Perez won fifth place in the nation and a $1,000 award in the Personality/Profile Writing Competition. She was selected from among 130 entries from 82 universities. Karla won for her penetrating profile of Lenie Urbina, a recent UConn graduate who reflected on her experience as a survivor of the Sandy Hook shooting and hopes to become a lawyer to fight against gun violence. Karla began working on the story in Prof. Mike Stanton's Feature Writing class. Karla graduated on May 10 and in August, she will begin her master’s program at the Columbia University School of Journalism.
Read the story here: https://ctcommunitynews.org/2025/07/17/passing-a-milestone-a-sandy-hook-survivor-looks-back-and-ahead/
Jenna Outcalt, another May 10 graduate with a journalism degree, took 10th place in the Hearst podcast category for a story that she reported, wrote and produced in Prof. Harriet Jones’ podcast class in Fall 2025. The story explores food insecurity in Hartford and what the nonprofit Levo International, Inc. is doing to tackle the problem. Jenna also developed the story as a correspondent for Planet Forward. This summer, she’s working as an environmental reporter for Planet Forward and the Chautauqua Institution.
Listen to the story here: https://lnkd.in/e9gdd4TB
Hear Jenna talking about the story here: https://lnkd.in/eEeyZ8gF
Kitan Arole, a rising junior Journalism major, tied for 19th in the national Hearst Audio Contest for her podcast story, “Crowned and Proud: more than Hair.” The piece features Black female students at University of Connecticut sharing their experiences with the microaggressions surrounding natural hair and the barriers they face when trying to access proper hair care. Their stories highlight the cultural and personal significance of hair for Black women navigating predominantly white institutions. Kitan also received an honorable mention for the story in the NPR College Podcast Challenge.
Give the story a listen here: https://ctcommunitynews.substack.com/p/crowned-and-proud