Journalism Graduate Students Honored at State Digital Media Awards

Alexandra Maxwell and Chumani Heard’s projects spotlight untold histories, immigrant experiences, and ethical dilemmas

Key Highlights

• Two Sacred Heart University Journalism & Media Production graduate students earned statewide recognition at the Digital Media Connecticut Awards for excellence in film, journalism, and social impact storytelling
• Alexandra Maxwell won two awards for projects highlighting women’s sports pressure and the untold history of Prudence Crandall’s school for Black girls in Connecticut
• Chumani Heard received the Social Impact Creator Award for her immigration-focused story created with Caroline House, spotlighting immigrant women and families

Two students enrolled in Sacred Heart University’s Master of Arts in Journalism & Media Production (JMP) program received recognition for their projects submitted to the Digital Media Connecticut Awards. The awards are part of the state’s annual Launchpad Summit celebrating emerging talent in film, television, and digital content creation. More than 100 submissions throughout Connecticut were considered for this opportunity.

Alexandra Maxwell ’27 earned the Cinematic Excellence Award for The Heart of the Game, a narrative short film recognized for its strong storytelling, production quality, and technical execution. She also received the Authentic Voices Award for The Classroom that Challenged America: The Prudence Crandall Story, a news piece that explores an important topic in Black history through thoughtful reporting.

The Heart of the Game follows a high school senior debating whether to follow her morals or risk everything to win the basketball state championship. Maxwell came up with the idea from her love of playing basketball and her experience with the pressure of women’s sports in high school.

The Classroom that Challenged America: The Prudence Crandall Story that Maxwell created for her capstone, that was also publicized on the Fairfield County News, is about the first school for female Black children located in Canterbury. Maxwell said, “These are the stories that you don't hear in history books. With my research, I was able to talk to the historian curator of the Prudence Crandall Museum and the town selectman of Canterbury.”

Maxwell says the most rewarding part of this film was the reaction of the museum director. She was happy that this impactful story can be seen by anyone, even outside of Connecticut.

Chumani Heard ’26 was awarded the Social Impact Creator Award for her story produced in collaboration with Caroline House. Her piece focuses on an immigration story and brings meaningful attention to the experiences of immigrant communities. The Caroline House provides immigrant women with children a home with space for them to grow up in while navigating life in the United States.

Heard chose the journalism & media production graduate program to learn about different perspectives of people she is connecting with on her stories. Heard said, “You're also learning how to schedule interviews and how to cast correctly. To think about who would be the best candidate to really bring the emotion you are looking for. We get into the nooks and crannies. We look for those hidden gems that some people might miss. And I think that's very powerful.”

Both Maxwell and Heard are graduate assistants in the JMP program as well as WSHU Public Radio fellows. They felt very passionate about the Launchpad Summit. “Every media college student should have the opportunity to attend this event because there was so much access to the industry in that one space. It was celebrating students and providing them a way to showcase their work, but also giving them access into the real world and making valuable connections,” Maxwell said.

Heard said, “I was able to meet a CEO of a production company and he said that I have a strong emotional connection and intelligence. As students, we have so many doubts sometimes; hearing someone else believing in me who doesn’t know me but sees my potential, that was big for me.”

Taciane Batista, assistant teaching professor and program director of the journalism & media production master’s program, said, “It has been a joy to work with Alexandra and Chumani this year and to watch them grow as storytellers. Alexandra brings a strong sense of craft and a thoughtful approach to every story she tells. Chumani has grown so much in both confidence and focus, consistently choosing stories with purpose and treating them with real care and respect for the people involved.”

This summer, Maxwell will be a political reporting intern for NBC Connecticut, where she will be interviewing locals and students about political topics and what voters would like to see at the polls in order for them to vote. Maxwell is working on her next news piece discussing postpartum depression.