After spending the past year shooting photographs across the nation, Megan Spelman was named College Photographer of the Year by the Michigan Press Photographers Association last weekend.
This was Spelman's second year receiving the award. Spelman also received second place in portrait personality for a photo of a cheerleader with disabilities in Birmingham, Ala.
The Michigan Press Photographers Association awards the College Photographer of the Year award to a student's portfolio.
It's the seventh year in a row a photographer from The State News has won the award.
Spelman has won awards for photos she has taken both at MSU, during internships and study abroad trips. She has completed professional internships at the Birmingham Post-Herald in Alabama and the Jackson Citizen Patriot, and she has studied abroad in Cuba and the British West Indies. She's now in her fifth semester at The State News.
Spelman is an international relations senior who hopes to move to Brazil once she graduates in May.
"I want a job where I can take pictures; I don't discriminate," she said.
Amanda McCoy, history senior and photographer for The State News, won third place for a fashion illustration in the Michigan Press Photographers Association "Pictures of the Year" contest.
McCoy won for her portrait that was part of a series in a project she did for a photography course she took at Lansing Community College.
Her photo depicts the struggle of figuring out gender identity in a world that defines it as cut-and-dry, male or female, when in reality, it's not, McCoy said.
"The special projects that I work on are about issues that are important in life and are not mainstream, but they should be addressed," she said.
McCoy, who said she is trying to build on her skills, came in second place for College Photographer of the Year.
Journalism Senior Gina Frigo also received an honorable mention, and journalism junior Nick Mrozowski received two awards for his design work in The State News from the Society for News Design.
To view more on this story and award-winning photos, view the gallery
