The Northern Illinois News Association will award a $1,000 scholarship to the high school senior who earns the John Etheredge Award for “Northern Illinois High School Journalist of the Year.”
The scholarship competition, recently named after longtime NINA board member and Record Newspapers Editor John Etheredge, is open to graduating high school seniors who plan to continue their journalism education at the college level.
Last year’s winner was Victoria Feng of Buffalo Grove, a recent graduate of Adlai E. Stevenson High School.
NINA President John Lampinen said the scholarship fund was created to encourage high school students to continue to study journalism and to promote journalism careers.
“As a professional organization dedicated to advancing print and online journalism education and training in Northern Illinois, we are excited at the prospect of awarding this scholarship to a student who shows promise for a career in our profession,” he said.
Applicants must submit a copy of their high school transcripts, which must include grade-point average. They also must submit:
- A letter of recommendation from a high school counselor, newspaper adviser or professional supervisor. Additional letters of recommendation are welcome.
- A portfolio of work published in either print or online. Examples include: news, sports and feature articles; photographs or photo pages, page layouts or full copies of a newspaper showing the student’s contribution to the overall product.
- An autobiographical essay that includes a description of career goals.
- A completed nomination form.
The application material must be postmarked April 7 or earlier.
In addition to the scholarship, the winner will receive a plaque and will be the subject of an article in our association’s online newsletter.
NINA welcomes your comments and suggestions about the scholarship program and how we can work together to advance journalism education at the high school level. Please feel free to contact Shelley Hendricks at 815-753-4239 or at shendricks@niu.edu.
Northern Illinois News Association 