Sixteen aspiring journalists from area high schools recently completed an intense two weeks of training in the 23rd Annual Urban Journalism Workshop at San Antonio College, directed by Instructor Irene Abrego.
Melissa Macaya, a Clark High School senior and 17-year-old native of Caracas, Venezuela, received the first Regina Montague Memorial Scholarship, valued at $2,000, established by family members and the Express-News to honor Montague, a former workshopper who died in an auto accident in 2004.
Three students received $1,500 scholarships from the Alamo Community Colleges Foundation Board: Laura Barrera (Taft), Melody Mendoza (East Central), and Stephanie Rendon (McCollum). Rendon was also nominated with Hillary Castañon (Warren) for the $1,000 Dow Jones Scholarship national competition. The Dub Daugherty $1,500 scholarship went to Michael Vásquez (Taft), Castañon, and Sarah Miles (Jefferson).
"The workshop is truly a community endeavor for our department and the college," said Journalism-Photography Chairperson Marianne Odom. She added, "It connects us with high school students and teachers, local chapters of professional organizations, journalism faculty at senior institutions and media professionals from the San Antonio Express-News and other major Texas newspapers . . . to give students an inside look at a career in journalism and an experience they will never forget."
The workshop included networking with local media professionals and a phone interview with Naka Nathaniel, a 1990 workshop participant who works at the New York Times with Nicholas Kristof, producing online op-ed pieces on Darfur and other stories.
Students researched, wrote and photographed stories for a tabloid publication You S.A. (at http://www.theranger.org ), several of which were published by the Express-News. Articles covered such topics as a Colombian teen whose family had to flee terrorist attacks, the TAKS test, high school students who live alone and support themselves, and the impact on teenagers of the increased minimum wage.
Major sponsors for the workshop are San Antonio College, the ACCD Foundation, the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund, San Antonio Express-News, Austin American-Statesman, The Dallas Morning News, Standard-Times, Canon, Texas State University, and San Antonio Press, Inc.
For more information about the Urban Journalism Workshop or the Journalism-Photography program at San Antonio College, call 733-2870 or go to http://www.theranger.org.
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