TROY, Ala. (TROJANVISION) — TROY graduate and former Troy Public Radio (TPR) intern Jared McBride’s radio work is being recognized on a national level.

McBride has been with TPR for over a year. Now, his work is paying off as his story “Mobile residents learn the history of the last known slave ship in Alabama” recently won first place in the Society of Professional Journalists’ Mark of Excellence competition for Region 3.

McBride says he was inspired to report on the Clotilda because it is close to his hometown.

“I’m originally from Washington County, that’s pretty much Mobile, Alabama,” McBride said. “Knowing that I grew up right there, didn’t know anything about it, and then it was so significant, so important that people do documentaries. People doing all type of things, writing articles about it.”

McBride wrote the story in the summer of 2022 while he was interning at Troy Public Radio. He says he wanted to write something that would grab people’s attention, but still be educational.

“I wanted to do a story that I knew was going to be interesting to me because I feel like if you do a story that’s interesting to you, that’s most likely going to be your big story.”

McBride plans to continue writing. He says he wants his work to be impactful for many years.

“I want my stories to mean something to other people, mean something to me.”

You can listen to McBride’s reporting here.