2015 Scholarship Winner

The SPJ Florida chapter awarded its college scholarship this year to Rachel Wang, who just entered her freshman year of college at the University of Florida.

It was during her junior year of high school that Wang discovered her passion for journalism, when she spent a semester working on a documentary of student immigrants. In the film, she addressed the struggles coming to a new country, including the language barriers and bullying.

“My teacher from middle school, a Puerto Rican immigrant herself, saw the documentary and told me that it moved her to tears and thanked me for making the voices heard,” Wang said. “The moment I read that comment, I was genuinely overwhelmed by the effect that my creation can have on people. It was a very movie-like moment when I realized that my passion for storytelling was growing into something bigger and more meaningful.”

SPJ Florida reached out to all the applicants of the college scholarship and encouraged them to run for the chapter’s student representative seat. Wang decided to run, and she was chosen for the position. At UF, she has joined the SPJ and National Broadcasting Society’s student chapters. Her goal as student representative is to create a bridge between professionals and students, as well as creating a dialogue with students about their needs.

In her first semester, she has already had a chance to anchor and direct WUFT-TV News’ practice shows and enrolled in a training class for the station next year. It’s all in her plan for her future in broadcast journalism.

“My dream job is working as a news producer for a show, since I love working with people and telling stories,” she said.

Are you a student with questions, concerns, or suggestions for Rachel? Email her or tweet at her @RachelNim.