J-school senior places first in Hearst feature writing competition

Melissa Abbey, a UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media senior reporting major from Winston-Salem, N.C., placed first in the feature writing category of the Hearst Journalism Awards. 

Abbey will receive a $2,600 scholarship for her winning entry “From a cardboard box to loving arms.” She was one of 142 students from 76 universities competing in the category.

Abbey now is eligible to compete in the Hearst writing national championship in San Francisco in June 2013. The national championships gather monthly competition winners to demonstrate their skills in on-the-spot assignments to compete for additional awards.

Abbey is director of news in the Hussman School’s Reese News Lab and will intern at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution during the spring 2013 semester before graduating in May. She also has interned at CNN, The Charlotte Observer and the Carteret County (N.C.) News-Times.

The UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media finished third overall in the Intercollegiate Competition of the Hearst Journalism Awards during the 2011-12 academic year. Before that, the school won back-to-back Hearst overall national championships. 

The overall finishes result from students placing in monthly writing, photojournalism, broadcast and multimedia competitions during the school year.