University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa students swept all 24 student awards at the annual Excellence in Journalism awards, hosted by the Hawaiʻi Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), July 30.
Headlining the group were the following first-place winners:
- Student Investigative Journalism in Any Media—Lili Hurd (journalism major)
- Student Breaking News in Any Media—Emma Davidson (journalism major)
- Student Feature Journalism in Any Media—Flynn Hamlin (2024 journalism graduate)
- Student Sports Journalism in Any Media—Justin Gardner (2024 journalism graduate)
- Student Journalism Featuring Video—Lili Hurd
- Student Journalism Featuring Photography—Kiersten Morgan (exploratory major)
- Student Journalism Featuring Audio—Alyssa Francesca Salcedo (2025 journalism graduate)
- Student Editorial/Opinion Writing—Emma Caires (2025 journalism graduate)
Associate Professor Youjeong Kim from the School of Communication and Information in UH Manoa’s College of Social Sciences and faculty sponsor of the UH Mānoa SPJ Student Chapter, said, “It’s incredibly rewarding to see our students recognized for their hard work. They’re not just learning how to report the truth—they’re out there doing it, with heart and a strong sense of responsibility. Their work makes a real difference in Hawaiʻi, and I’m proud to support them.”
Other students who won awards included majors in communication, anthropology and cinematic arts. Suah Cho, an incoming PhD student in the communication and information sciences program, won three awards for stories that were published in Civil Beat, where she interned in 2024. Many faculty members and alumni also earned awards in professional categories.
See the entire awards list at the Society of Professional Journalists website.
