Recent Franklin College graduate Erica Irish was named Indiana Student Journalist of the Year by the Indiana Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists during the organization’s June 14th virtual ceremony.
The event recognized the winners of the 2020 Society of Professional Journalists “Best in Indiana” Journalism Contest. Irish, along with several other Franklin College students earned accolades.
The award concluded an amazing collegiate career by Irish, who excelled academically and professionally throughout her four years of college. During her time at Franklin, Irish gained real-world experience working at the Indianapolis Business Journal, Chalkbeat Indiana and WFYI. Along the way she gathered an impressive collection of awards and scholarships, including an Emmy for her work as an assistant producer on the documentary “The Children’s Crusade Revisited: Slaughterhouse-Five at 50,” a joint effort by WFYI and TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
Recently, at the college’s Commencement ceremony held on May 22, Irish was awarded the prestigious Scholarship Cup by her alma mater for achieving the highest GPA of the Class of 2021.
“Pride doesn’t even begin to describe what I feel about Erica’s achievements,” said John Krull, director of Franklin College’s Pulliam School of Journalism and publisher of TheStatehouseFile.com. “Erica doesn’t just step up to challenges-she sprints to meet them. Along the way, she makes everyone around her better by making each of her colleagues feel confident and valued. Hers is a rare talent and her strength of character is even greater than her talent. It is no wonder that SPJ named her Student Journalist of the Year.”
Additional awards received by Irish include:
-Non-Deadline News – Second place: Erica Irish, “Lost Credit” The Franklin.
-Non-Deadline News – Third place: Taylor Wooten and Erica Irish, “Coverage of Former Franklin College President Thomas Minar” The Franklin.
-Column Writing – Second place: Erica Irish, “Searching,” The Franklin.
Irish, a first-generation student, graduated from Perry Meridian High School. She is the daughter of Eric and Charise Irish of Indianapolis. Following graduation from Franklin, Irish embarked on the Orr Fellowship, gaining business experience by working as a better product community manager at Innovatemap.
