Students from Loyola University New Orleans’s celebrated School of Mass Communication swept awards this year at The Society of Professional Journalist Region 12 Conference on March 31 with 10 accolades.

“These awards are a testament to the quality of skills instilled into our students through our robust programs and through our dedicated faculty and staff,” said director of Loyola’s prize-winning School of Mass Communication. “We are so proud our students and the future communications leaders they are quickly becoming.”

The Society of Professional Journalists annually presents Mark of Excellence Awards, honoring the best in student journalism. First place regional winners move forward to the national competition.

This year, the Maroon, Loyola’s 94-year old student newspaper, won SPJ’s Mark of Excellence for Best All-Around Non Daily Student Newspaper among 9 others.

Awards and recipients presented this year to students in the School of Mass Communication included:

Winner – Breaking News Reporting – Nick Reimann

Finalist – Breaking News Reporting – Marie Simoneaux, Gabriel Garza, Zach Brien

Winner – Editorial Writing – Maroon Staff

Finalist – Feature Writing (small) – Nick Reimann

Finalist – Feature Writing (small) – Danielle Garcia

Finalist – General News Reporting – Colleen Dulle

Finalist – In-Depth Reporting – Nick Reimann

Winner – Sports Writing – Marie Simoneaux

Finalist – Sports Writing – Gabriel Garza

National winners will be notified in the late spring and recognized at the Excellence in Journalism conference in Anaheim, California.