2013 Scholarship Winner
UF Journalism Student Awarded SPJ Scholarship
Alex M. Sanchez, a sophomore at the University of Florida, has been awarded the 2013 scholarship of the South Florida Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Sanchez, a 2011 graduate of Coral Reef High School, majors in journalism with a specialty in photojournalism. She was selected for the $2,500 award by members of the chapter scholarship committee, with applicants from Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.
Her work has appeared in the Independent Florida Alligator, as well as Home Magazine, Gainesville Today and Gainesville Fashion Week. She will be a photo intern this summer at The Miami Herald and plans to work at the Gainesville Sun this fall.
In 2011, Sanchez was a Silver Knight nominee for a project that collected more than 2,000 books and raised funds to establish a library in Presillas, Nicaragua.
“Photojournalism is the window into the world,” Sanchez says. “I believe in the power of photographs, it shows people point blank: this is happening; this is the world you shield your eyes from. I want to dedicate my life to finding people who have a story to tell, who deserve to be recognized for their accomplishments, their hardships.”
The South Florida Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists was organized in 1946 as the Greater Miami Chapter of Sigma Delta Chi. SPJ is a national professional organization founded in 1909 that includes broadcast, print and online journalists, journalism educators, and students interested in journalism as a career. It is dedicated to the perpetuation of a free press as the cornerstone of our nation and our liberty.
The chapter sponsors the annual Sunshine State Awardscompetition, open to all print, broadcast and online journalists in Florida. The competition recognizes quality journalism in the best tradition of our profession. Proceeds help to fund an annual scholarship award to area college students who demonstrate outstanding talent, character and merit in pursuit of a career in journalism. For more information, contact Bill Whiting, Scholarship Chair.