On Saturday, Nov. 4, ten student journalists sought out a story for the 37^th annual Indianapolis Press Club Foundation’s Thomas R. Keating Feature Writing Competition. Sophomore Erin Bruce, a multimedia and sports communications journalism student from Troy, Ohio, placed second in the competition.

The annual writing contest, sponsored by the Lumina Foundation and Lilly Endowment Inc., attracts students from colleges and universities across the state. Student finalists were invited to attend an informal dinner in Indianapolis to meet one another and receive advice from seasoned journalists. Students were then given their assignment and competed for honors and the $3,000 prize money. The foundation provided meals and hotel accommodations.

The finalists were challenged to find an ordinary person with an inspiring story. The goal of the assignment was to share the humanity of Indianapolis through its residents.

The students had five hours to interview, write and construct a well-written story. Bruce wrote a compelling story about a woman using her love of art to navigate sobriety. Despite Bruce competing against students from other much larger institutions, such as Indiana University, IUPUI and DePauw University, she took home second place. After the competition all the finalists were invited to an awards banquet in downtown Indianapolis.

This is the sixth consecutive year that Franklin College has been represented among the finalists, as well as the sixth year Franklin College students have placed in the top three.

Keating, a popular former Indianapolis Star columnist and Lilly Endowment Inc. executive, is the inspiration behind the contest. He died in 1985 at the age of 45. The Lilly Endowment underwrites a portion of the competition each year, which, since its inception in 1986, has awarded nearly $200,000 to college and university students in Indiana.

For more information, contact the Franklin College Office of Communications at (317) 738-8185.

By: Alona Gilpin ’24, Pulliam Fellow

POSTED Nov 21, 2023