FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 18, 2003
CONTACT: John Hammond, San Antonio College Director of Public Relations
210.733.2147
Students Enthusiastic About SAC's Summer Journalism Workshop
Thirteen aspiring journalists from area high schools recently completed an intense two weeks of training, June 9-20,
in the 19th Annual Urban Journalism Workshop at San Antonio College. Three received $1,500 scholarships from the Alamo
Community College District Foundation Board: Sandra Zuniga (McCollum), Kyla Perry (Devine), and Mary Zamora (Clark).
Zamora also was nominated for the $1,000 Dow Jones Scholarship national competition.
The Workshop
The workshop included seminars with visiting experts from the Austin American-Statesman, The Dallas Morning News, San
Antonio Express-News, and the University of Oklahoma, and a day of "shadowing" staff members at the Express-News.
Students researched, wrote, and photographed stories for a tabloid publication You S.A., which includes such topics as
high school censorship, teen auto deaths, kids and obesity, the Spurs as role models, the San Antonio Symphony's
financial crisis, the Internet as a journalistic alternative, teen volunteers, the dearth of South Side bookstores,
and Macarena Hernandez and the New York Times' Jayson Blair scandal.
Attraction to Journalism
Scholarship winners Sandra Zuniga, Kyla Perry, and Mary Zamora all work on their high school newspapers, and Zuniga and
Perry have also worked on the yearbook.
Their attraction to journalism began early. Zuniga has always read books and enjoyed writing. Perry has been reading
since age three and wrote her first story at age five about her older sister, who is in journalism and has been a coach.
A relative also inspired Zamora, whose cousin is a Laredo TV reporter.
Learning & Thinking About Media
"The workshop was great," said Zuniga, who added, "You get to meet pros, learn how to be a better writer, and learn about
sources."
"We got to hone our writing skills, sitting with someone who's been doing this for decades, without making us feel two
inches high," said Perry.
Zamora also appreciated the moral support, "especially from the counselors and the support we gave each other." She
added, "I definitely encourage anyone to come to the workshop. It's a good way to decide about a career in journalism."
Their feelings about the state of journalism were mixed. Perry "has no respect for electronic journalism," which she
considers biased, and she worries newspapers will become obsolete.
Zamora, who is partial to print journalism, is concerned about technology taking over.
Goals
All three plan to enroll at San Antonio College after graduation and eventually work on a newspaper. Zamora plans to
transfer from San Antonio College to Southwest Texas.
For more information about the Urban Journalism Workshop at San Antonio College, call 733-2870.