Jabin Botsford, a former Washington Post staff photographer, is the third WKU alum to win a Pulitzer Prize for this year’s awards.

Botsford’s work was included in the Washington Post’s win in the Public Service category. It won for its coverage of the Department of Government Efficiency.

Botsford is a graduate of WKU’s photojournalism program and worked on the staff of the College Heights Herald and Talisman during his time on the Hill.

The Washington Post won the Pulitzer Prize “For piercing the veil of secrecy around the Trump administration’s chaotic overhaul of federal agencies and chronicling in rich detail the human impacts of the cuts and the consequences for the country,” its website stated.

Botsford and the Washington Post staff previously won the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting for his photography of the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump on July 13, 2025. Botsford was also on staff for the Washington Post’s 2022 win in Public Service for coverage of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Alongside Botsford, WKU alum Armondo Sanchez and current student Dominic Di Palermo won the Pulitzer Prize, along with the staff of the Chicago Tribune, for its coverage of Operation Midway Blitz by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  

Professor and Coordinator for Visual Journalism and Photography at WKU James Kenney said seeing students win awards like the Pulitzer Prize “reaffirms my utter joy in teaching these students.”