AAJA Seattle student members in action!
When I was studying journalism at Western Kentucky University in the early 2000s, I was eager to soak every experience I had in college from writing for the school paper to interning at newspapers all over the nation. Though I have been out of school for several years, I still remember fondly how much I grew through all the opportunities that was open to me while I was in college.
So I find great pleasure in hearing about how AAJA Seattle’s student members have made the most of their college experience:
Peter Sessum, the 2008 and 2009 recipient of the Northwest Journalists of Color scholarship, won two awards in the 2009 SPJ Region 10 Mark of Excellence Awards.
Sessum earned a first place award in in-depth reporting and a second place award in general news reporting for work he did at The Triton Review, the school paper at Edmonds Community College. Sessum’s story on blood donations was also selected as a finalist in the in-depth category for the national Mark of Excellence Awards.
Sessum is now a student at the University of Washington and writing for its school paper. AAJA members will also see him in action at the 2010 AAJA National Convention in Los Angeles as a member of the AAJA Voices staff.
Another winner in the regional Mark of Excellence Awards was Yong Kyle Kim. He won a third place award in online in-depth reporting for a project on pornography on campus for the website of the Whithworthian, the school paper at Whitworth University in Spokane. Last summer, Kim was able to attend the 2009 AAJA National Convention in Boston as a recipient of the Founders Scholarship. Kim blogged about his convention experience on this website, reporting on a session about the dangers of international journalism and what news recruiters look for in students. And if all that wasn’t enough — Kim is currently in the middle of a year abroad in Sydney, Australia studying journalism at Macquarie University.
Gerald Patriarca, a student at Seattle Pacific University, recently was profiled in the university’s paper for his internship with KOMO-TV’s problem solvers team. The article, which also mentions his previous internship at KING 5, also quotes Akiko Oda, an AAJA member who interned at KOMO-TV before graduating from University of Missouri this month. And not only is Patriarca learning from his experience, he’s inspiring other students to do the same.
Who wouldn’t be inspired by these students awesome stories? I certainly am!
Photos: AAJASeattle.org file photo, Yong Kyle Kim’s website and Danielle Knight, The Falcon newspaper at Seattle Pacific University.
