The 2017 Korva Coleman Excellence Awards presentation was held in the KJZZ newsroom in Tempe on April 7. Winners were recognized for their work in three areas of digital media: Audio, Video and Multimedia Production. The field of entries was the most competitive yet, with high school and college journalists from 21 states submitting 99 pieces for consideration.

Winners received a crystal Korva Coleman award and a $1000 scholarship. Korva joined the presentation via Skype from her home in Washington D.C., and delivered a heartfelt congraulatory message. We were also pleased to welcome inaugural Korva Coleman winner Alexandra Olgin back to the KJZZ newroom for the event. Olgin was visiting from South Carolina, where she is a reporter for South Carolina Public Radio.

This year's exceptional winners are:

Audio Production: Surya Hendry, "How a sixgill shark got this introverted teen to talk"

Hendry is a junior at Inglemoor High School in Everett, WA., and produced this piece for KUOW Seattle's Radioactive Youth Media program.

Video Production: Adriana De Alba, "The gift of farming"

De Alba is a senior at Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She will intern at a news station in New York this summer and will return to the Cronkite School this fall to earn a master's degree.

Multimedia Production: Ryan Santistevan, "Investigating Hope"

Santistevan is a junior at Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She has worked as a reporter for ASU's student publication, The State Press, and is an intern at the Arizona Republic.