DJMS students recognized during annual gala

Photo by Prof. Don Spann

Taniyah Collins
Staff Writer

 It was a beautiful evening at the Mississippi E-Center on April 4, as faculty and students gathered to celebrate Department of Journalism and Media Studies (DJMS) students for their accomplishments over the 2023-2024 academic year. 

Guests were ushered into the masquerade themed gala: Thee Night to Remember, with masks in hand. From the music selections of deejay J Co to the scent of the deliciously catered food selections offered by Sodexo – guests knew the experience would be nothing short of amazing. 

After guests were allowed time to mingle, network, and converse, they were encouraged to find their seats so that the hostess, DJMS Professor Ashley Norwood, could begin the night’s program. 

The keynote speaker for the event was Essence Wallace, CEO and Executive of Chosen Studios.

After Wallace’s inspirational and brief speech, the much-anticipated awards ceremony began.

DJMS professors and media advisors came to the mic one by one to recognize various students for their stellar work. 

Juliana Rincon, a junior journalism and media studies major from Cali, Columbia, was awarded the JSU-TV Stellar Award.

“I feel that the event is excellent. It was organized and pretty, with great food and great people. I liked it,” said Rincon. “It was my first time coming, and I truly enjoyed myself.”

Although the event is intended to celebrate student’s hard work, throughout the evening, students were also urged to vote for their choice of best DJMS professor. 

Professor Nathan Towery, Ph.D., was select for this honor.

Rincon encouraged her fellow DJMS classmates to continue to work hard because you never know what awaits. 

“I think what we should do is keep working hard on ourselves. We never know what we’re going to get. I didn’t know anything about this award until today in my class. The people around you will push you hard if they know you can do it,” Rincon said.

Miriam Howard, a senior journalism and media studies major and Jackson, Miss. native, was another one of the winners of the night. Howard was awarded the highest honor for Excellence in Multimedia Journalism and the Department Chair’s Award. 

The Department Chair’s Award, presented by DJMS Chair Elayne H. Anthony, Ph.D., is given to the student with the highest GPA in the department. 

“I thoroughly enjoyed the event because it allowed all of us to come together and celebrate, enjoy each other, have a good time, showcase what we’ve been doing all semester, and just go out with a bang,” stated Howard. “My takeaway is that everyone enjoyed this semester just as much as I did. You know it’s hard. We all know that in school, we think of it as hard work, but in the end, we’re all doing things that we love, and then it’s such a rewarding feeling to be celebrated for doing what you love.”

Howard added: “I was honestly so shocked to win the highest GPA award because I had no clue. They must not count this semester,” Howard joked. “But I’m just grateful because I was utterly taken aback about it. God has been good. He’s been with me throughout this whole semester. I’m so glad that it’s finally paying off and that I am graduating Summa Cum Laude.”

Norwood explained how the annual gala began. 

“Two years ago, I had a couple of National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) students,” Norwood explained. “We were planning events for the year, so my students were like, ‘why don’t we just do a gala type of event where everybody can dress up.  We can choose a theme and there is an opportunity to maybe honor students for their work.’” 

The students wanted to recognize students with different awards and also wanted to recognize a standout professor in the department as well.

It was important to Norwood that her students felt heard and appreciated and that’s what motivated her to move so diligently in putting the gala together. 

“I took it as a challenge and said, ‘let us do it’. So, I rallied up faculty and staff, and it’s been a fully collaborative effort across the department and within our organization to pull it off. Students felt like, let us have a moment where we dress up, eat, and dance, but bask in all that we’ve accomplished over the year and also give a farewell to our graduates. That was last year, and this is our second year. I look forward to continuing to do that in our department,” Norwood said.

Although the night was a success, that doesn’t mean the NABJ members didn’t face hardship during the planning process of the event. Norwood stresses how donations and charity are crucial when it comes to supporting a campus student organization such as NABJ.

“One of the challenges will always be how we pay for it. So for anyone reading this article, I would encourage them to participate in the planning next year when we start gearing up for this to help us pull resources together. Make financial donations, buy a ticket, and come. That’s how we can do this. Raising money in the department is not just how we can pull off an event like this but also how we can provide resources for our students,” Norwood added.