JMU Journalism graduates and their families and friends gathered in LJMU’s Dean Walters building after Monday’s graduation ceremony to enjoy a glass of Pimms, a farewell word from the Head of Journalism, and to see some individuals pick up awards for their achievements whilst at university.
The prestigious ‘Reporter of the Year’ prize was collected by Josh Parry for his outstanding work across both the JMU Journalism website and its sister newspaper production, Liverpool Life.
Josh said:“It’s so unexpected but it feels really nice to be noticed for the hard work that I’ve done this year. I know there were a lot of other students that put in a lot of work so it makes it even better to know we’ve had one of the best website teams that there has been. I’m really proud.”
The Neil Warburton Prize was established in 2000 by the family of a student who died whilst on the journalism course, and is awarded to the graduate with the highest final grade in the year, along with a £100 bursary.
This year the honour was shared between two students who attained the same mark, Jonathan Bridge and Sam McDonnell.
Jonny hopes to go into magazine graphic design now he’s left university, having received a remarkable grade for his final project men’s health magazine. He said: “I’m thrilled! I didn’t expect this but it’s a pleasant surprise. At the end of the second year I made it my goal to work a lot harder and put the effort in so it’s a nice reward.”
Fellow winner Sam said: “It’s been a great experience, even if it was slightly later in life for me, and I’m made up to win the prize. After arthritis affecting my shorthand ability in the first year I feared for the worst, but my aging bones managed to pull through in the end.”
Earlier in the week, Madelaine Cornforth collected the Research Excellence Prize after giving a presentation based on her dissertation, which was awarded the highest mark in this year’s class.
Head of Journalism, Professor Chris Frost, bade farewell to the Class of 2013, saying: “It’s great to see young people collecting their degree certificates ready to go out into the world and make their way and face their own challenges.
“I hope that goes really well for you. I hope you have a fantastic life doing whatever it is that you want to do, and making a success of that.”
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