Cronin wins Keating writing contest
Senior Ruth Cronin placed first in the 38th annual Thomas R. Keating writing contest, which took place Saturday. Ten student journalists from around the state had five hours to interview, write, and file a piece about someone visiting Indianapolis.
Cronin’s feature — which follows a family visiting the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, the largest children’s museum in the world — earned high praise from the judges.
“We liked that the story used a variety of anecdotes, including from employees, to help the reader visualize what it’s like to experience the museum,” the judges said in their comments. “It weaved the stories together very well from beginning to the end.”
Students who place in the top three of the contest receive journalism scholarships worth $3,000, $1,750, and $1,250, respectively. Jay Upshaw, a production major at The Media School, was also one of the 10 finalists to compete in the contest.
The competition’s namesake, Tom Keating, wrote for The Indianapolis Star. He wrote about ordinary people with stories that could inspire, answer questions, and share the humanity of Indianapolis.
You can read Cronin’s winning story here.