Spring Showcase

Spring Showcase: A Celebration of Excellence

Spring Showcase 2013 honors donors, student and alumni achievements and
features keynote from renowned photographer Annie Griffiths

On April 24, 2013 the University of Minnesota School of Journalism & Mass Communication (SJMC) hosted its annual Spring Showcase: A Celebration of Excellence.

This year's event featured a keynote by 1976 alumna and world renowned National Geographic photographer Annie Griffiths, who was honored with the SJMC Alumni Society Board's Award for Excellence. Griffiths was one of the first female photographers for National Geographic and has photographed in more than 150 countries. Griffiths' brought along her most prized photographs and shared stories of her travels and photography with the crowd of more than 250 guests. Griffiths also spoke about her most recent passion: raising awareness of issues for women and girls around the world as they deal with climate change. "Telling this story is so important," she said. "These women are simply amazing."

The SJMC Alumni Society Board also honored four alumni with its Above the Fold Award, which recognizes alumni who are under 40 years old and have established distinguished careers. The 2013 recipients are: Tim Blevins, senior writer at OLSON; Jessica Fleming, writer and editor at the Pioneer Press; Vadim Lavrusik, journalist program manager at Facebook; and Gabby Nelson, director of internal and external relations at Select Comfort.

In addition to alumni awards, the evening also featured a showcase of student work. More than 40 students were on-hand to showcase projects created throughout the 2012-2013 school year.