Russell Frank, NSNC Education Chair and Associate Professor of Communications at Penn State University, announced the winners of the 2010 NSNC Scholarship Contest today. Frank said, “There were 110 entries this year, a very pleasing number…” Preliminary judge, Ben Pollock, NSNC Vice President noted, “Judging the students was hard this year: No bad columnists in the bunch. All wrote grammatically well, and planned their writing carefully. I had to read all entrants at least three times.”
John ( “Marley & Me”) Grogan picked the winners. Grogan commented, “It’s my pleasure to share my pick of winners. All three stood out well above the rest of the field, and my top pick was head-and-shoulders above them all. So it was a clear and easy choice.”
FIRST PLACE
Derek Wilson
Ball State University
“Crisp writing and punchy leads. But beyond that, Wilson demonstrates a sharp mind, solid reporting skills, and an ability to assemble meaningful facts to make his point. He has something to say, which in commentary is half the battle, and he says it well. He does what a good columnist should do: challenges the powers that be. I forgot I was reading the work of a student journalist. Hello, Wall Street Journal: Hire this guy!”
Ben Pollock commented, “Someday, Mr. Wilson is either going to be an honored editorial writer or a millionaire consultant. He can choose good numbers to highlight and can explain them to a general audience.”
SECOND PLACE
Braden Katz
University of Kansas
“A strong point of view coupled with a crisp, clear writing voice made these columns engaging and meaningful. Katz’s sense of shared outrage leaped off the page, and he built convincing arguments to support his position.”
THIRD PLACE
Kevin Hollinshead
Colorado State University
“Hollinshead tackled weighty subjects and made them relevant to his audience.”
The first-prize winner will receive a scholarship of $1,000 and will be the guest of the NSNC at its 2010 convention in Bloomington, Ind., July 8-11, 2010. Second-prize winner will receive $500. Third-prize winner will receive $250. Students eligible for the contest are Undergraduates (including seniors) who write bylined general interest or editorial page columns that appear in the print or on-line editions of college newspapers.
Frank thanked preliminary judges Dave Astor, Sheila Moss and Ben Pollock for reading through all the entries and picking the semi-finalists.
NSNC wishes to thank all those students who took the time to enter the contest. Great students will be great journalists producing great columns some day, and that is what we encourage and what the NSNC Education Foundation Scholarship is all about.
