"Sam Howell clutched the arms of his wheelchair, lips pursed, eyes wide with determination.
"He was going to stand."
These two sentences lead into a story that catapulted journalism senior Melissa Domsic into more than $17,000 worth of scholarships for her reporting.
Her story, "Miraculous journey," documented MSU student Sam Howell's struggle to walk after a car accident that almost cost him his life. It was published by The State News in November 2005.
Domsic entered the article into the Hearst Journalism Awards Program's personality/profile competition, one of six categories in the Hearst writing competition. The story won first place, which led to a trip to San Francisco for a contest between seven other Hearst winners for the Hearst National Writing Championship. There, she took home first place and a $5,000 scholarship.
Domsic was then named one of Scripps Howard Foundation's Top Ten student journalists, and she received an additional $10,000 scholarship. The Detroit Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists also awarded Domsic a $2,500 Larry Laurain scholarship.
"Journalism is a huge portion of my life," Domsic said. "It's my passion. It's not just what I do to make money, it's what I love to do with my life."
Stephen Buckley, managing editor of the St. Petersburg Times in Florida, helped judge the Hearst National Writing Championship and said students had to write three stories during their stay in San Francisco.
One of the stories covered undocumented immigrants and their impact in an industry. He said Domsic was the only competitor to interview an illegal immigrant on the record. She used her Spanish-speaking skills to communicate with a number of illegal immigrants in the restaurant industry for the story.
Buckley said Domsic stood out among her competitors.
"What distinguished her was great reporting," he said. "The fact that she could find an illegal immigrant and get that person to talk on the record. She makes her subjects comfortable. She's a very warm person, and people trust her and tell her things."
Jane Briggs-Bunting, director of the MSU School of Journalism and president of The State News Board of Directors, said Domsic's success benefits all journalism students at the university.
"It raises our profile on a national level even higher," she said. "Any time that the (School of Journalism) has a student success, no matter how small — and in Melissa's case, big — it helps every other student who goes here in journalism and The State News."
