Caitlin Yilek, who served as the 2011-2012 Beacon opinions editor, has won a national First Place Award for Editorial Writing in the Society of Professional Journalists’ Mark of Excellence Awards, for editorials she wrote for The Beacon. Two current Beacon staffers, Kate Stringer and Jackie Jeffers, are national finalists for Feature Writing and Sports Photography, respectively. The Beacon journalists competed in the “Small School” category, meaning colleges and universities with 5,000 or fewer students. Yilek, who graduated in 2012, won for her editorials titled “Where are all the women?,” “University disregards student media,” and “What has ASUP done for you?” She is now a copy editor at the 
in her home state of Minnesota. She will receive the award at the SPJ Excellence in Journalism convention in Anaheim, Calif.,in August. For more information contact Nancy Copic, student activities, at 7470 or copic@up.edu.