University of Northern Colorado junior Ben Shumate is one of six students across the state who received the Damon Runyon Award from the Denver Press Club.

The students were awarded the scholarships on March 1 in Denver at the 25th annual Damon Runyon banquet, which is a fundraiser for the organization. Shumate and the other awardees almost met Washington Post journalist and 2019 Damon Runyon Award recipient Bob Woodward. Woodward is best known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning stories that he and then-fellow Washington Post reporter Carl Bernstein wrote about the Watergate break-in and subsequent cover-up that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.

Shumate was nominated by UNC faculty and submitted samples of his work for the $1,500 award, which he plans on using for school expenses.

“It means a lot to me that media professionals looked my work and decided that it qualified me for the scholarship,” he said. “Often times, we see our school work as just school work, and when it is seen as something of worth, it’s a fun feeling.”

Shumate chose journalism because he loves storytelling and sees journalism as an efficient means of telling stories. He plans on graduating in spring of 2020 with a bachelor’s degree from the Journalism and Media Studies program and a minor in creative writing.

The Denver Press Club is a non-profit organization and club that has existed since 1867 to support the journalistic profession and work.

Learn more on the Damon Runyon Award: http://denverpressclub.org/gallery/post/damon-runyon-awards

— Written by Joshua Parsons.