2021-22 Hearst Championship Qualifiers Announced

San Francisco – The William Randolph Hearst Foundation has announced the 29 journalism students representing 14 universities from across the country who will compete in the 62nd annual National Writing, Photojournalism, Audio,Television and Multimedia Championships, May 20-25, 2022.

The finalists include eight writing finalists, six photojournalism finalists, five audio finalists, five television finalists and five multimedia finalists, selected from 1,255 entries received in this year’s 14 monthly competitions.

During the Championships, held in San Francisco, the finalists will participate in various spot assignments
selected by our judges, competing for scholarship awards ranging from $1,500 to $10,000.

We congratulate the 2022 Hearst National Championship finalists.

Writing Finalists
Christopher Cicchiello, Syracuse University
Elise Elder, University of Florida
Maddie Ellis, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Houston Harwood, University of Florida
Katherine Lester, Texas Christian University
Elizabeth Moore, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Kiera Riley, Arizona State University
Abigail Weiss, Syracuse University

Photojournalism Finalists
Angelina Katsanis, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Alberto Mariani, Arizona State University
Chasity Maynard, University of Florida
Julia Nikhinson, University of Maryland

Noah Riffe, Pennsylvania State University

Jack Weaver, University of Kentucky

Audio Finalists
Aurora Berry, University of Texas at Austin
Carolina Garibay, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Daniel Myrick, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Dustin Wilcox, Murray State University
Jayda Williams, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Television Finalists
Ally Arnold O’Rullian, Brigham Young University
Bradley Davis, University of Missouri
John Perik, Syracuse University
Moriah Humiston, Syracuse University
Elyse Schoenig, University of Missouri


Multimedia Finalists
Lauren Cmiel, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Angelica Edwards, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Endiya Griffin, University of Southern California
Chris Ocana, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Lucas Pruitt, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Presently, 103 colleges and universities with accredited undergraduate journalism schools are eligible to
participate in the Hearst Journalism Awards Program. Funded and administered for 62 years by the
William Randolph Hearst Foundation, the Journalism Program awards up to $700,000 in scholarships,
grants and stipends annually.