Angela Hunt, editor in chief of the Seahawk and a communication studies major, has won the 2012 Eric Breindel Collegiate Journalism Award.

The award offered Hunt an internship with the Wall Street Journal, Fox News, or the New York Post and a $10,000 prize for her entry “Sand, In Sanity.”

“I chose (Sand, In Sanity) because it showed a love of both country and democratic process, which was the contest’s theme,” said Hunt. Hunt also entered her coverage of the student veteran tuition controversy at UNCW (see both stories in “Related Articles”).

Hunt, a senior, transferred to UNCW when her Marine husband became based at Camp Lejeune. 

She entered the contest at a professor’s suggestion. 

“She said I’d be stupid if I didn’t enter it into something. She sent me a list of contests and I chose the one that would mean the most to me.”

The Breindel contest called for entries that show a love of country and its democratic institutions.

The deadline for entries was April of this year. After entering “Sand, In Sanity,” Hunt said, “I felt that if my writing didn’t win this, then I didn’t work hard enough to deserve any award.”

She said she was inspired by the large, and largely invisible, student veteran population. 

Hunt has decided to intern at the Wall Street Journal in May 2013. Residential housing in New York City will be provided. 

Hunt sees this opportunity as the beginning of her journalism career.

“What will propel my career forward is not the award itself, but rather what I do with it. I can walk away with an internship, or I can walk away with a career in journalism. I’m planning on the latter.”