With still nine weeks to go until her Bachelor of Journalism is completed, University of the Sunshine Coast student Ashley Porter has already proved she’s got what it takes to succeed in the gritty world of journalism.

The 20-year-old from Buderim was named the Most Outstanding Journalism Student at Queensland media’s night of nights, the Clarion Awards, held in Brisbane on Saturday.

Ashley submitted a body of work, including an investigative piece on asylum seekers and a political piece written during a study trip to Indonesia.

Judges from the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance were impressed by Ashley’s good news sense and commended her for not shying away from difficult topics.

Ashley said the award was validation that she chose the right field of study.

“I pretty much decided when I was 12 years old that I wanted to be a journalist and I’ve never considered doing anything else,” she said.

“It was great to be recognised for my investigative pieces because that’s the type of journalism I’d love to work in – it’s so interesting getting to the guts of a story.”

During her time at USC, Ashley has gained internships with 7 Local News Sunshine Coast and ABC Coast FM radio and worked casually for APN News & Media.

“I’ve been extremely lucky to have been presented these opportunities through USC,” she said.

USC's Senior Lecturer in Journalism Dr Renee Barnes congratulated Ashley on winning a Clarion award.

“She is an incredibly dedicated and hardworking student who took advantage of all of the opportunities offered to her through her journalism degree at USC,” Dr Barnes said.

“USC’s journalism program enables students to develop the practical skills to be newsroom ready, and through their coursework students also have the opportunity to develop professional news stories that are published and broadcast by mainstream news organisations.”