National Winner in Journalism

May 13, 2015

UT Tyler Office of Marketing and Communications

UT Tyler Alumna Named “National Winner” in Society of Professional Journalists Contest

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May 13, 2015

Media Contact:  Hannah Buchanan
Editor/Writer–Strategic Communications & Media Relations
Marketing and Communications
The University of Texas at Tyler
903.539.7196 (cell)

May 13, 2015

Lena Lee of Richland Hills, an alumna from The University of Texas at Tyler, has been recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists for her work as a former Patriot Talon contributing writer, Dr. Martin Slann, College of Arts and Sciences dean, announced.

Lee’s 2014 Talon story about Ebola, “A Viral View,” was selected as the “National Winner” in this year’s Society of Professional Journalists contest in the “General News Reporting – 1-9,999 Students” category. Her entry represented Region 8, which covers Texas and Oklahoma, and she competed against writers selected from 10 other regions to earn the recognition.

This is UT Tyler’s first time to compete in the annual contest and the university’s first national SPJ award.

“What I love about this is that Lena was a contributing writer and not a regular staff member,” said Kevin Dilley, Talon adviser and UT Tyler senior lecturer. “The story began as an assignment in Dr. Rauf Arif’s feature writing class, and he alerted the Talon editor about the story. This is a great example of the working relationship between the Talon and the UT Tyler communication department.”

Lee graduated from UT Tyler last December. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in mass communication.

She will be recognized at the Excellence in Journalism 2015 Conference this September in Orlando.

SPJ “National Mark of Excellence” award judges could select one national winner and up to two national finalists (runners-up) in each category. The Mark of Excellence Awards honors the best in collegiate journalism. Judged at the regional and national level, the annual competition offers 39 categories in newspapers, magazines, photography, radio, television and online journalism.

For more information, visit spj.org.

The Patriot Talon, the student-run media outlet at UT Tyler, is designed to inform, entertain, educate and heighten awareness of students, faculty, staff and administrators at the university.

The UT Tyler Department of Communication offers bachelor’s degrees in mass communication and speech communication as well as a master of arts degree in communication, and each degree is tailored to students’ specific interests and abilities.

For more information, call 903.566.7253, email communication@uttyler.edu or visit uttyler.edu/communication/.

One of the 15 campuses of the UT System, UT Tyler features excellence in teaching, research, artistic performance and community service. More than 80 undergraduate and graduate degrees are available at UT Tyler, which has an enrollment of more than 8,000 high-ability students. UT Tyler offers courses at its campuses in Tyler, Longview and Palestine as well as a location in Houston.