NAHJ Creates Scholarship To Support Student Journalism At MDC
Two Miami Dade College sophomores were awarded $1,250 scholarships from the National Association of Hispanic Journalists South Florida Chapter to champion student journalism.
Juan S. Gomez of Kendall Campus and Scarlling Manzanarez of North Campus were the first recipients of the scholarship, which was created this semester and is only awarded to active members of The Reporter.
The publication is MDC’s college-wide student newspaper. It published its first issue on Oct. 4, 2010 and includes a print, digital and newsletter edition. The paper has been named the top community college student newspaper in Florida for the past 12 years and won four national pacemakers.
Interested students can apply at https://bit.ly/43T5bqA.
Two additional NAHJ South Florida Chapter scholarship winners will be selected at the end of the fall. Applications will be available next semester at MDC’s scholarship website.
To be eligible, applicants need to have a minimum 3.0 GPA, show financial need and complete two essays on the importance of journalism and what they’ve learned at The Reporter.
“We are thankful for the generosity of the NAHJ South Florida Chapter and their belief in student journalism,” said Manolo Barco, who serves as the media adviser to The Reporter. “It’s important to support and advocate for journalism’s rising stars.”
Juan S. Gomez
Gomez, 20, is a second-year psychology student in the Honors College at Kendall Campus. This academic year, he served as editor-in-chief of The Reporter, overseeing the news, briefing and forum sections.
Throughout his tenure, Gomez has written 92 articles. His stories have included coverage of a protest at Tower Theater due to the iconic building’s transfer of management, Urbana’s leadership changes and obituaries on students and faculty.
Born in Bogota, Colombia, Gomez graduated from Robert Morgan Educational Center in 2021. At MDC, he’s been involved in student government, the debate team and has served as the president of his campus’ psychology club.
After graduating from Kendall Campus, Gomez hopes to transfer to Tufts University or the University of Pennsylvania this fall to pursue a bachelor’s in psychology. He aspires to become a social sciences professor.
“It’s amazing to receive this recognition for all the sleepless nights and the dedication I’ve given to our acclaimed student newspaper,” Gomez said. “The Reporter to me is more than a publication—it’s a family.”
Scarlling Manzanarez
The 21-year-old is a mass communications/journalism major at North Campus who serves as sports editor at The Reporter. She assigns, edits and writes copy for the section.
At the paper, Manzanarez has covered the baseball, softball, volleyball and men’s and women’s basketball teams at MDC since June. She has written 26 stories during her tenure.
Born in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, Manzanarez graduated from Las Brisas Baptist High School in Nicaragua in 2018. She studied journalism for two years at Universidad Centroamericana before moving to Miami in December of 2020.
After graduating from North Campus this summer with an associate’s degree, she plans to transfer to the University of Florida in the fall to pursue a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Manzanarez, a baseball fanatic, aspires to cover a Major League Baseball team someday.
“NAHJ means that as a Nicaraguan student journalist, I’m part of something that I really feel I belong [in], and I didn’t have that in my country,” Manzanarez said. “I found a place where I can be myself and can be even more proud of my culture.”
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