Davidson Day Sophomore Wins International Journalism Award

Sims submitted ten photographs, accompanied by captions, to the competition. His portfolio included pictures from the 2025 Delray Beach Open, a men's professional tennis tournament, and from local Lake Norman and Charlotte high school sporting events.

Davidson Day Yearbook Adviser Tiffani Thomas said: “Sims is an example of one who invests in his craft. He excels at capturing mood, emotion and interpersonal relationships in his photography. The quietness of a player kneeling in the end zone before a game, the thrilling energy of a quarterback being lifted into the air after a touchdown gives his team the lead, the pure athleticism of a basketball player mid-air, mid-dunk. In Sims' photography, we not only see the events he captures, we feel the spirit of his subjects.”

The PSJA Contest recognizes student excellence in 13 categories and had entries from schools across the United States and one in London, England. The contest’s judging panel was comprised of professional journalists and journalism professors.

Alongside his first-place award, judges noted: “These images do an excellent job of capturing the essence of the subjects by freezing key moments of motion and reaction. The captions allow them to feel more complete with necessary background and context to better understand the story.”

Sims’ submission portfolio can be found here, and more of his photography and videography can be found on his Instagram account here.