Monash journalism’s Grace Baldwin has won a Walkley award for the 2023 Student  Journalist of the Year award.

Grace, who scored an exclusive front-page story of the Herald Sun, produced strong journalism for News Corp publication, the Herald Sun, while studying at Monash.

Grace exclusively interviewed AFL star Bailey Smith, who was struggling with mental health issues.

Grace's body of work included “Bailey Smith’s first interview: ‘I went days without getting out of bed’”; “Sinister cult recruiters targeting people at Melbourne landmarks”; “Nazi lark has no excuse”.

The Walkley awards were presented at the Mid-Year Celebration of Journalism in  Sydney on June 15.

Grace was humbled to win a coveted Walkley.

“It is a huge honour to be the recipient of this award and the mentorship of both the  Herald Sun and Monash University have been invaluable,” Grace said.

“Studying full time while working is a very difficult lifestyle, so I am endlessly grateful for everyone who has supported me in managing the workload.

“The skills I learned from the Monash journalism course greatly equipped me for the  challenges of journalism, and being able to actively work and learn at the same time has been very rewarding.

“I’m extraordinarily humbled and am very excited to see what comes next.”

Monash Head of Journalism Associate Professor Johan Lidberg congratulated Grace on her excellent achievement.

“The competition in the Walkley awards is fierce and nationwide and this makes her win even more impressive,” Associate Professor Lidberg said.

“The judges are made up of senior journalists from the industry. This says a lot about the quality of Grace's journalism and the teaching in the journalism program at Monash University.

“We are proud of Grace and all our journalism students for the dedication and passion with which they engage with journalism at Monash.”

Associate Professor Lidberg also acknowledged Monash staff, who supported Grace during her academic journey.

“Congratulations also to the staff that have taught and supported Grace to achieve this impressive recognition,” he said.
In events like this, it's good to be the Head of Journalism.”

Other student of the year finalists included Angus Delaney, from Swinburne University of Technology, and Grace Nakamura, representing the University of Queensland.

Walkley Foundation chief executive Shona Martyn said the calibre of the entries was incredibly high.

“Judging sessions went into extra time as judges weighed up the top entries in highly competitive fields,” Ms Martyn said.

“Everyone selected as a finalist should feel hugely proud. There was a pleasing breadth in the entries too with journalists from across Australia, from news organisations big and small, producing high quality stories on a vast range of topics.”