UNF student journalists listed among 2023 Green Eyeshade Award recipients
Lauren Fox and Ethan Leckie, reporters for the University of North Florida’s Spinnaker, received 2023 Green Eyeshade awards in the Student Division.
For more than 60 years, the Green Eyeshades has recognized the best journalism in the southern United States — which now includes print, television, radio, and digital.
In addition to recognizing professional journalists, Green Eyeshades recognizes students who work hard all year long and then the organization helps them find jobs. The judges, who are all professional journalists and hiring editors, assess multiple pieces on a single subject by each student to help determine who is consistently good at one thing, rather than rewarding one good story on one topic.
The journalists competed against other students in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia.
Fox, Spinnaker’s former managing editor who graduated from UNF last fall, was awarded second place in the Best Feature Writer category for her articles on the intention of “Banned Books Week” as explained by a UNF librarian, the evolution of abortion ‘through the ages’ and the spotlight of UNF swimmer Morgan Ray who won silver in the 100-meter breaststroke for Team USA in the 2022 Para Swimming World Champions in Portugal last summer.
Leckie, Spinnaker’s current opinions editor who will be entering his second year at UNF, received second place in the Best Columnist category for his columns about pushing through life even when it’s hard, why students should take advantage of what Student Government has to offer, and the struggle to find parking on campus.