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Feature Writing
Nancy McGillicuddy / Rocky Mount Telegram

In her first year of reporting for the Rocky Mount Telegram, Nancy McGillicuddy wrote about substantial feature subjects, including the special challenges faced by grandparents raising grandchildren, and school tests about evolution.

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Nov. 7, 1999

"I wasn't assigned those stories, I found them," McGillicuddy said. "A grandparents organization just seemed like something to write about. A child in that story was very open about it, and that was very helpful. The family was willing to talk, because they wanted change, wanted to get the word out."

"In the 'God vs. Darwin' story, the Kansas decision not to have children tested on the subject of evolution had just come down, and I just thought I'd localize it," McGillicuddy said.

A Fredericksburg, Va., native, she graduated from Virginia Tech in 1999 with a major in communications and a minor in sociology.

McGillicuddy has recently moved from the Rocky Mount Telegram to the Greenville Daily Reflector.


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EXCERPT:
"For grandparents who have never dealt with the legal world other than to write a will or to defend a traffic ticket, the twists and turns of parental custody can be vague and frustrating."

 


 

JUDGES' COMMENTS:
"McGillicuddy has tackled two hot-button contemporary topics, grandparents raising grandchildren and testing students on the theory of evolution, in ways that will cause readers to re-examine important questions."