Gabriella Paul, Grethel Delgado Alvarez Win 2019 SPJ Florida College Scholarship

First Place

Gabriella Paul

We are proud to announce the first-place winner of the 2019 SPJ Florida College Scholarship, Gabriella Paul!

A journalism and history student at the University of Florida, the rising senior has a special interest in human interest stories surrounding race, politics and entertainment. She currently is a contributing writer for The Alligator, the independent student newspaper at UF, and The Gainesville Sun. Last semester, she served as the Capitol news correspondent for WUFT News to cover the 2019 state legislative session.

“Today, an era bombarded by sheer content, with bottomless Twitter feeds, yet growingly stale newspaper stands, the world of journalism is moving quickly and it’s moving digital. But, it shouldn’t be mutually exclusive with sensationalized clickbait news,” Paul wrote in her scholarship essay. “I want to use people-driven narratives as a vehicle to write about all topics – ranging from heated political elections to a city’s beloved dive bars.”

During the judging process, the SPJ Florida Scholarship Committee was impressed with Paul’s skills as a storyteller and wide array of published work.

“She’s producing work far beyond what I think could be reasonably expected from a college student,” one judge said during deliberations.

Second Place

Grethel Delgado Alvarez

We are also excited to announce the 2019 second-place winner, Grethel Delgado Alvarez!

A Master’s student at Florida International University, she left her home country of Cuba at 28 because of her love for the freedom of the press.

“[I am] in a country where no one would take me to jail for disagreeing or showing my opinion, where they would not lock me in a room to coerce me before a trip abroad and where I could write with freedom,” she wrote in her essay, which she titled “The Voice of the Silenced.”

“Since I started in this profession, everything I do is focused on work. It is a constant hunger to carry useful stories and in some way help people grow.”

With a background in acting and television, she is currently studying multimedia journalism and is a reporter for Diario Las Americas and the univeristy’s South Florida News Service. The judges were impressed with Delgado Alvarez’s tenacity as a journalist and her appreciation for the First Amendment.

“She has the full package,” a judge wrote.