MDC Journalism Speaker Series presents Patrick Farrell

As a curious 13-year-old with an interest in photography, Patrick Farrell destroyed a bathroom at his parents’ home trying to convert it into a darkroom. Farrell’s improvisational skills—while costly at the time – turned out to be a justified investment. Today, Farrell, 50, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist for The Miami Herald.

On Thursday, March 25, at 10 a.m., Miami Dade College (MDC) will present Farrell as part of its acclaimed Journalism Speaker Series. The event will be held at the college’s North Campus.

A staff photographer for The Miami Herald since 1987, Farrell’s assignments have taken him to the Middle East, across the Caribbean and throughout Central and South America.

His poignant photos documenting the destruction caused by four hurricanes that struck Haiti in 2008, earned him several honors, including the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography. In addition, Farrell has been named the National Press Photographers’ Association’s Region 6 Newspaper Photographer of the Year twice (1992 and 1993). He was also named the Southern Photographer of the Year in 1989 and again in 1993 at the Southern Short Course in Photography.

A Miami native, Farrell graduated in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in television and film production from the University of Miami. He started his career working for several small community papers in Florida.

The MDC Journalism Speaker Series was launched in 2008 and provides an exchange and learning opportunity for students and the community at large. Speakers still remaining on this year’s schedule are: CBS 4 anchor Jawan Strader, South Florida Sun-Sentinel police reporter Sofia Santana, and WSVN 7 photojournalist Ralph Rayburn.

Each program includes a presentation by the journalists and a 15-minute question and answer session. All programs are free and open to the public.

For more information about the speaker series, please contact Falcon Times adviser Manolo Barco, at 305-237-1255.