School of the Holy Child student Dana Rickens took home an inaugural Purchase College Award for Excellence in High School Journalism, the institution announced last week.
She won the news category for a well-reported story about construction of a learning center on the Holy Child campus. The college announced two other high school winners as well — Iris Pineda and Sofia Tibaldi, both from Mepham High School in Bellmore. They won the features and arts categories, respectively.
The students were nominated by their advisors, Christina Saraceno at School of the Holy Child and Heather Castellano at Mepham.
Saraceno, director of professional learning at Holy Child, praised Rickens’ piece for introducing “the new building to the student community, giving them a chance to understand the significance,” she said.
“These young reporters show the impact that good journalism can have on a community,” said Ross Daly, associate professor of journalism and director of the contest. “It’s impressive that they can do this so early in their careers.”
The winners will be honored at a lunch on the campus of Purchase College, where they will meet with members of the journalism faculty at the State University of New York School. Purchase College is located less than seven miles north of Rye, in the town of Purchase.
The journalism major at Purchase College is designed to provide students with the intellectual bases and skills to gather, assess, and disseminate information and ideas. This equips students for careers in journalism and a wide variety of other fields, including law, government, business, and public relations.
Students work closely with faculty who have distinguished careers in journalism, including at The Washington Post, the Daily News, Newsday, ABC, and Democracy Now!
Students are offered a central set of skills courses in journalism, electives in specialized areas in a variety of media, and courses that explore the broader context of journalistic practice. Students also work in the college television studio, and the student publications, The Purchase Phoenix, and The Beat. Purchase students have landed internships with such varied media outlets as NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS, MSG, Marie Claire, and the Daily News.
Contest winners will also be offered partial housing scholarships in the amount of $3,000 per academic year if they choose to attend Purchase in the future.
This award is designed to support a residential campus experience for local students, as studies have shown that those who live on campus tend to receive more support, report higher satisfaction with their college experience, earn better grades, and graduate at higher rates than those who live off campus.