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Meet the Filipina journalism student who found out she won a Pulitzer in class

A 23-year-old Filipina master’s student at Columbia Journalism School, Mariel Padilla, was utterly shocked following the big announcement on April 20, inches away from her classroom, that she won a Pulitzer Prize.

It’s a double celebration for the young Filipina as it’s less than a month away before she finally earns her master’s degree.

Padilla, whose parents are both Filipinos, grew up in Ohio, US, decided to pursue a career in journalism.

She applied as a breaking-news intern for The Cincinnati Enquirer during the summer of 2017. Her task was to visit the county jail to sort through hundreds of paper arrest slips and flag opioid mentions.

From there, she took the initiative to create a spreadsheet for Enquirer reporters, documenting the time, location, and nature of every opioid-related arrest.

Little did she know that she what had dug out in the field would later earn him a Pulitzer Prize for local reporting.

In September 2017, the Enquirer published an in-depth report titled “Seven Days of Heroin,” detailing the effects of heroin on the community.

When she heard the Enquirer had won, she was not sure she would be included in the list of prizewinners. And then a text from Padilla’s editor last summer, Bob Strickley, confirmed: “Congratulations! You’re a Pulitzer winner!

“I was in shock,” Padilla told Columbia Journalism Review.

“My eyes just went so wide and I’m pretty sure my mouth was open. Obviously, I couldn’t make noise or anything because my professor was still talking,” the young Filipina added.

Photo: Columbia Journalism Review

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