The Flor-Ala and the Diorama beat universities across the country and earned awards for their journalism and design efforts.

Former News Editor Ashley Remkus and current News Editor Anna Beahm received honors from the Society of Professional Journalists’ 2015 Mark of Excellence Awards March 28.

Remkus won in the General News Reporting section for her article, “Data reveals funding disparity between UNA student organizations,” about the unbalanced distribution of student allocations. Remkus and Beahm were also finalists in that same section for their article, “Employment applications raise equality questions,” about unfair employment practices in the community.

Remkus’ winning streak continued in the Breaking News Reporting category for her article, “4 bystanders rescue man from flaming house,” which she wrote as an intern for local newspaper TimesDaily.

“We are proud of both Ashley and Anna for taking on controversial issues that are not always popular on campus or in the community,” said Student Media Adviser Scott Morris. “Both of these articles are good examples of watchdog journalism conducted by student journalists. It is good training for the students, and their readers also benefit.”

Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina make up region three out of the 12 SPJ regions. Winners in each section will compete against winners in the other regions for the national Mark of Excellence Awards.

The Diorama staff won third place for Best Yearbook Cover at the 2016 Spring National College Media Association Convention in New York City March 15.

The Diorama staff chose to design a geometric lion with a fall color pallet for the yearbook cover, said Executive Editor Jaclynn Kampmeyer.

“The staff took a chance with an unusual year book cover for 2015,” Morris said. “The creative design must have caught the attention of the contest judge, just as it did the students on our campus.”

Placing under the University of Miami’s award-winning yearbook, “The Ibis,” was exciting, Kampmeyer said.

“Knowing that we can compete with such a big school, with such a huge well-developed (yearbook), is a super awesome feeling,” Kampmeyer said. “We spent a lot of time, a lot of hard work collaborating and getting creative with the yearbook. I’m glad people saw that.”