Other Department of Journalism alumni who were a part of 2018 Pulitzer Prize-winning teams:
- Stephen Beard created 3D graphics and a logo for "The Wall," a project by The Arizona Republic that won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting.
- Matt Berry took photos and reported for "Seven Days of Heroin,” a project by The Cincinnati Enquirer that won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for local reporting.
Almost a year after completing her undergraduate degree, Erika Espinoza — a Department of Journalism alumna — was part of a Pulitzer-prize winning project.
Espinoza, who is now earning her Master of Arts in Emerging Media Design and Development, worked at the Phoenix Design Studio in 2017 — in collaboration with The Arizona Republic — and was a part of the graphics and site design teams for "The Wall."
"The Wall" — a report about the proposed wall by President Donald J. Trump — won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting and featured an interactive map of the wall, virtual reality screen captures and aerial video of the border.
"Erika’s achievement speaks volumes about the excellent education she received from our Department of Journalism, our College of Communication, Information, and Media, and our University. She is one of many empowered students who exemplify how We Fly at Ball State," said Marilyn Buck, interim provost and interim executive vice president for academic affairs in an email.
Espinoza received the news in a Slack — a cloud-based communication medium for organizations — from her former adviser, but it didn’t really hit until a former professor reached out to her about the award.
“I knew we were submitting all these really cool stories to the Pulitzer because I was working on the templates and getting those in, so I knew that was going to be a possibility, but it didn’t really hit until Ryan Sparrow texted me and emailed me this morning,” Espinoza said.
“It was really fun working with this team. It was a massive collaboration with writers, videographers, other partners that helped with the design, with my supervisor — it was a lot of things.”
Espinoza ended up in Arizona in 2015 at Phoenix Design Studio designing feature pages for different publications in the area. She didn’t design for The Arizona Republic until she had a digital position with the studio, which helped create “The Wall.”
“I don't really like to be the center of attention or I don't like to have spotlight. I mean, if I win something I acknowledge it and I share with my close friends, with my parents, family, but that's it. I think I'm really humble about those things. So this, this is a little new for me. It feels good to be valued and for people to recognize something you do,” Espinoza said.
Espinoza’s interest in design started with now journalism professor Kim Green, who was the yearbook and news magazine adviser at Columbus North High School.
Green said she remembers Espinoza’s breakthrough moment. She was a sophomore at the time and some students were upset about how they were represented in the news magazine, the Triangle. So, Espinoza facilitated a conversation between the editorial board and the students.
It was then, Green said, she knew Espinoza was a superstar in the making because she always put the magazines missions first: everyone has a story, every story matters and the staff has a privilege to tell those stories and leave it better than you found it.
“She's just such a humble person and with her talent and everything,” Green said. “I think there's a, the gratitude she feels for the gift she has is just, you know, it's something I admire about her and love about her, and I just couldn't be prouder.”
Espinoza said she enrolled in one of Green’s publications classes because she wanted to be a children’s book author and thought the class was about children’s books, not journalism.
“She helped me a lot out through high school and my transition to Ball State, so she was my mentor — and still is — for a long time,” Espinoza said. “She would let me take her computer. I didn't have a computer, I don't have the software to design when I was a design editor for the news magazine, so she would let me borrow her old Mac that I would have to take home and then do all that work there and then, you know, we're back to the computers at that school.”
Once she got to Ball State, Espinoza said she met other professors like Ryan Sparrow and Jennifer Palilonis who took her under their wing.
However, Espinoza said this was a “one in a thousand, one in a million” opportunity for her because a lot of dreamers don’t have the same options as other students.
“I think I value this more because I know the struggle that I went through and the struggle that many students go through because they don’t have, you know, all the opportunities that other students do,” Espinoza said.
Espinoza, who moved to the United States from Puebla, México, when she was 9-and-a-half years old, said she never thought she would be a part of team that would win a Pulitzer Prize, but she always set goals for herself to gain leadership positions and internships she wanted.
Contact Mary Freda with comments at mafreda@bsu.edu or on Twitter @Mary_Freda1.
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