The communication design and international business double major was recently recognized in the Society of Professional Journalists’ Green Eyeshade Awards competition.
The Pendulum, Elon News Network’s student-run newspaper, has racked up plenty of awards for its work in 2020 and Grace Terry ’21 added to the collection when she was honored with the Best Designer in the South Award in the Society of Professional Journalists’ Green Eyeshade Awards competition.
The rising senior is a double major at Elon, studying communication design and international business, and is currently the managing editor of The Pendulum after serving as the design chief this past year.
As design chief, Terry was responsible for designing and overseeing the creation of multiple spreads for newspaper’s weekly publications, and picked three of her favorites to submit: a design on the “Faces of Pride” spread, the Elon fall sports preview, and a map package highlighting the scope of Elon’s study abroad programs.
“I really wanted to submit the maps specifically because I got to use Microsoft Excel to do all the data work,” Terry said. “That was awesome because I’m also a business major, so it was really great to combine my two majors.”
Former Elon News Network Executive Director Jack Haley congratulated Terry on social media following the award’s announcement.
“She did all of this work while training and mentoring the new design recruits for @ElonNewsNetwork,” wrote Haley said in a June 30 tweet. “When we say students are able to learn from the very best and brightest in student journalism through @eloncomm, we mean it!”
At The Pendulum, Terry said she has had a place to grow, and her design skills reached new heights at the newspaper.
“The Pendulum made my design skills far and away better than they would have if I never joined,” Terry said. “I got to apply the skills we talk about in class on a weekly basis and because of that I was able to grow so much.”
In May, Terry was presented with the Dubois Legacy Scholarship at the school’s virtual awards ceremony, where ENN adviser Kelly Furnas spoke on her behalf.
“It’s hard to think of someone with more consistent commitment than this year’s winner Grace Terry,” Furnas said during the ceremony. “Grace is remarkably talented as a visual communicator, able to take complex topics and illustrate them in a way that’s immediately understandable to a reader.”
Terry’s future goals are design-oriented, but they’re also fueled by her love for sports.
“My dream would probably be to do graphic design for a sports company at a place like ESPN or CBS Sports Network,” Terry said.
Recent graduate Anton Delgado ’20 placed third as the Best News Reporter in the South and as the Best News Reporter in the South. He won both SPJ competitions last year.
About the Green Eyeshade Awards
The Green Eyeshade Awards have been awarded yearly by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) since 1950 as a way to recognize the best journalism across the southeastern United States, including print, television, radio and online. Awards are given out in both student and professional categories, and is judged by members of the SPJ, with all money made from the event being spent on SPJ programs across the South.