Michigan Alum, the magazine of the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan, was awarded 12 “Excellence in Journalism” awards from the Society of Professional Journalists — Detroit Chapter (SPJ) during the organization’s annual banquet.
Health Reporting
Michigan Alum senior editor Katherine Fiorillo’s Winter 2023-24 feature, “The Trip to Healing” took home first place for health reporting. Through a variety of interviews, the article explores how U-M researchers, students, and alumni are digging deeper into psychedelics.
Feature Reporting
Fiorillo earned second place in Feature Reporting for “When Pride Prevailed,” published in the Summer 2024 issue of Michigan Alum. The article details how U-M alums in Ann Arbor became the first openly gay people to serve and be elected to public office in the U.S.
Senior content strategist Jeremy Carroll earned third place for “The American Dream Kid,” published in the Fall 2024 issue. Carroll traveled to Ellis Island in August to interview New Leaders president and CEO Ghida Dagher, ’12, the subject of the article.
Sports Reporting
Carroll also earned third place for “How New Rules Helped Fuel U-M’s National Title Run,” an exclusive article only found in Michigan Alum’s 2023-24 National Championship Commemorative Edition. Carroll shares a byline with Steve Friess in this story, with some reporting stemming from the 2023 Michigan Alum feature on NIL in non-revenue sports, “A Seat at the Table.”
Portrait Photography
Carroll earned first place for his photograph “Coming Up Roses,” featured in the two-page opening spread of the Rose Bowl recap article in the 2023-24 Commemorative Edition. The photo was taken as the confetti rained down after the Wolverines defeated the University of Alabama and progressed to the national championship game.
Jessica Yurasek, ’04, the senior director of communications for the Alumni Association, earned second place for her portrait photo of Ghida Dagher in “The American Dream Kid.” The photo was taken at Ellis Island and was used as the two-page opening photo in the award-winning spread design of the article.
Cover Design
Michigan Alum designer Katie Grimm, ’10, of Ann Arbor-based Pryor Design, earned first place for the Summer 2024 cover “When Pride Prevailed.” The cover is a composite of archived newspapers and photographs from U-M’s Bentley Historical Library, and boldly highlights the alums featured in the article. SPJ judges wrote the cover was a “creative treatment of historical photos and utilization of solid color blocks over background photos to offset the focus images in an otherwise black and white photo collage. A well-balanced design.”
Grimm also won second place for the Fall 2024 cover, “Popcorn U.” The block M popcorn photo was taken by Kevin Roberts of Father Photo.
Magazine Spread Design
In Magazine Spread Design, Michigan Alum won first place for “Meet Gen Z’s Big Sister,” designed by Grimm; second place for “Business is Finished” by Scott Pryor of Pryor Design; and third place for “The American Dream Kid,” also designed by Grimm.
“Meet Gen Z’s Big Sister” was complimented by SPJ judges for “an excellent photo and strong layout over this 2-page spread, utilizing angles to direct design flow into the story. Good font selection and color choices. Overall, an excellent composition.”
“The American Dream Kid” utilized photos taken by Yurasek during the Ellis Island visit, where Dagher was speaking at an event and featured her award-winning portrait photo in the opening spread. “Business is Finished” used photos taken by Carroll during the 2024 national championship football game.
Headline Writing
Carroll also won second place in Headline Writing for a collection of penned 2024 titles, including “Meet Gen Z’s Big Sister,” “Popcorn U,” and “A Different Type of Gap Year.”
