On April 24, 2025, Report for America recognized the work of young student journalists across the country during its Student Journalism Awards ceremony. Entries came from youth being mentored by current Report for America corps members who, as a result of our national service mission, volunteer their time in the community where they work.
The primary goal of these service projects is to support the media literacy of young people across the country by helping them produce stories about the world around them.
“Today, we celebrate those projects, but most importantly, we celebrate the amazing collaboration between students and corps members,” Denise Tejada, service projects manager, said. “In our seven-year history, we have spent over 40,000 hours on projects serving over 13,000 students.”
Find the full list of winners below. We thank the Scripps Family Fund for Education and the Arts for their generous support.
Report for America Student Journalism Awards
Best News Story: Reporting of a single story that demonstrates the student’s ability to inform the public about a complex and important topic. A winning story should be newsworthy, include multiple sources and be written and structured in a way that is easy for the reader to follow.
1st: Sydney Shulze | Corps member: Caroline Love
2nd: Laila Henderson | Corps member: Torsheta Jackson
3rd: Hector Gutierrez | Corps member: Gabriela Szymanowska
Best Feature Story: A long-form non-fiction story that covers a single topic in detail. A winning story should demonstrate a student’s storytelling ability and be written and structured in a way that is easy for the reader to follow. It should capture a reader’s attention and illuminate the topic.
1st: Paris Braggs, Caitlyn Russell, Jeremy Thomas and La’Ziyah Walker | Corps members: Torsheta Jackson and Illan Ireland
2nd: Ava Kate White, Chloe White | Corps Member: Philip Powell
3rd: Laura Cifuentes Ramirez | Corps Member: Gabriela Szymanowska
Best Profile: A story that demonstrates a student’s ability to portray someone of interest to the audience. A winning profile should show the reader something unexpected or illuminating about the person profiled. A winning story should be descriptive, with great use of interview(s).
1st: Ferrari Shakespeare | Corps Members: Torsheta Jackson and Illan Ireland
2nd: Autumn Faasse | Corps Member: Gabriela Szymanowska
3rd: Elizabeth Sanchez | Corps Member: Gabriela Szymanowska
Best Enterprise Story: An in-depth story that is not based on news or a press release, but rather generated based on the reporters’ sources. A winning enterprise story should not only report facts but help readers understand the significance. It should demonstrate strong writing and sourcing.
1st: Sophia Islam, Hudson Ebright | Corps Member: Hannah Gross
2nd: Hannah Evans | Corps Members: Torsheta Jackson and Illan Ireland
3rd: Mckenzie Mathews | Corps Members: Torsheta Jackson and Illan Ireland
Best Editorial/Opinion Piece: A piece that includes the author’s own opinion. It may or may not include additional reporting and interviews. A winning editorial/opinion piece should be clear, and engaging and provide a compelling argument or perspective.
1st: Ava Kate White | Corps Member: Philip Powell
2nd: Kaitlyn Poole | Corps Members: Torsheta Jackson and Illan Ireland
3rd: Autumn Faasse | Corps Member: Gabriela Szymanowska
Best Photo: A single photo used to illustrate a topic, can be a single photo from a photo series or a photo that accompanies a written story. A winning photo should not only be composed well, it should tell a story with the information it conveys.
1st: Annabella Stevens | Corps Member: Gabriela Szymanowska
2nd: Ava Kate White | Corps Member: Philip Powell
3rd: Taylor Brandon | Corps Members: Torsheta Jackson and Illan Ireland
About Report for America
Report for America is a national service program that places talented emerging journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered topics and communities across the United States and its territories. By creating a new, sustainable model for journalism, Report for America provides people with the information they need to improve their communities, hold powerful institutions accountable, and restore trust in the media. Report for America was created in 2017 as an initiative of The GroundTruth Project, an award-winning nonprofit journalism organization dedicated to rebuilding journalism from the ground up.