Alpharetta High School Alum Nominated for College Television Award

Alpharetta High School alumna Lauryn Lovett has been nominated by the Television Academy Foundation for the 44th College Television Awards. The Foundation’s annual awards show recognizes and rewards excellence in student-produced programs from colleges across the country. Winners in the competition will be announced by television stars at the red carpet awards ceremony on April 5, 2025, at the Television Academy in North Hollywood, California. Designed to emulate the Emmy Awards, student entries are judged by Television Academy members. Criteria for the College Television Awards reflect industry standards of excellence, imagination and innovation.

Lovett, along with classmates at UNC Chapel Hill, is nominated in the News category for a project titled, Deadly Shooting on Campus: The Facts. The Failures. The Future. – a special edition of Carolina Week, UNC's award-winning student-produced television newscast.

On Aug. 28, 2023, Associate Professor Zijie Yan was fatally shot in a science building on UNC’s campus. In the report, students covered firsthand accounts, the aftermath of the shooting, and what it means for students, faculty families and the Chapel Hill community at large. Lovett served as a writer on the project.

“The shooting happened during our second week of classes, and two days later we put together a newscast detailing what happened that day and how the community was feeling days later,” said Lovett. “In that newscast we realized we had a lot of unanswered questions. We took the rest of the semester to try to fill in the blanks interviewed survivors of former school shootings, university and local leaders and students who spent hours on lockdown afraid for their lives.

“I reported on the university’s emergency management and police response during and after the lockdown,” said Lovett. “I learned a lot about how even the best laid plans can fail. As a journalist I wanted questions answered; but as a student I needed to know what our campus’ plans to ensure our safety were, especially as we had another lockdown shortly thereafter.

“I never imagined I would be part of a project that would be nominated for this award,” continued Lovett. “It means so much that our hard work has been recognized this way.”

Born and raised in Alpharetta, Georgia, Lovett attended Alpharetta High School. “Growing up, I never knew where I saw myself in life,” said Lovett. “I had several goals but no way of reaching them. My high school freshman English teacher helped point me in the right direction.”

Lovett is a 2024 graduate of UNC at Chapel Hill who majored in media and journalism and political science.