Category: Multimedia Daily Life

First Place

Forough Alaei / Freelance
“Let Me In”

Second Place

Katie Klann / Colorado Springs Gazette
“Learning from the Land: Women in Ranching”

Third Place

Ora DeKornfeld, Taige Jensen and Cora Engelbrecht / New York Times
“What a Soldier Killed in Niger Left Behind”

Award of Excellence

Kristen Zeis / Norfolk Virginian-Pilot
“No turning back: A transgender sailor’s journey”

Award of Excellence

Guy Wathen / San Francisco Chronicle
“The Regulars: The Dancer”

Award of Excellence

Jennifer Gonzalez / NBC Bay Area – KNTV
“Beyond the Fields: Farm Workers Excel Academically Through Cesar Chavez Program”

Award of Excellence

“No turning back: A transgender sailor’s journey”

The Virginian-Pilot spent more than 16 months following one transgender sailor’s journey as he began to serve openly and medically transform his female body to match the man he had long felt himself to be.

The Obama administration dropped the long-standing ban that kept transgender people from serving in the military and receiving related health care in 2016. A little more than a year later, President Donald J. Trump declared on twitter that he wanted to revert to the previous policy.

Soon, this sailor’s career may be in jeopardy. But for him, there’s no turning back.