Scholarship Winners

The $6,000 Casey Nichols Scholarship was awarded to Kimberly Gomez Santos. She joined the Sacramento State University’s student newspaper, the State Hornet, in spring 2021 as a staff writer focusing on Spanish-language coverage. Gomez Santos was born in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, and transferred to Sacramento State from Allan Hancock College in 2019. She is a first-generation college student, living in the United States with a DACA visa. Her ultimate career goal is to become a T.V. news anchor. Gomez Santos plans to use her scholarship money to graduate debt-free, and will be the first member of her family to graduate from college.

The $5,000 John Howard Scholarship was awarded to Carly Moran, a sophomore at Hillsdale College studying politics and journalism. She is the assistant news editor for The Collegian, the oldest college newspaper in Michigan. Carly was born and raised in Folsom and hopes to continue her journalistic work in the Sacramento region after graduation. When not writing for The Collegian, she enjoys freelancing for the Center Square, hiking, horseback riding and rollerskating.

The $5,000 Sacramento Press Club Scholarship was awarded to Nathan Uebelhoer, who is currently headed into his third year as a journalism student at Sacramento State. A Sacramento native, Uebelhoer grew up in Elk Grove while spending his high school years working in Brazil with his parents. He currently works as a sports reporter for The Sacramento Bee covering high school sports in the area. He also contributes to his school’s student-run radio station KSSU, producing and broadcasting their live sports section.

The $4,000 Dan Walters Scholarship was awarded to Casey Rafter, a Sacramento State student who transferred from Sacramento City College. He served as State Hornet copy editor for a year after spending two semesters as editor-in-chief at the Sac City Express. The latter saw Casey guiding students who published award-winning work remotely through the earliest months of COVID-19. He has also contributed arts and entertainment features for Sacramento News & Review since May 2021, covering the local music and art scene. Through his weekly radio show “Upper Case E” on Sac State’s radio station, KSSU, Casey amplifies the voices of musicians, filmmakers and writers in the Sacramento area.

The $4,000 Jerry Gillam Scholarship was awarded to Cristian Gonzalez, a political Science and jouurnalism student at Sacramento State. He has worked as a multimedia and visuals staffer at The State Hornet, and will be the multimedia editor for the fall 2023 semester. Gonzalez has had work published in the Sacramento News & Review covering homelessness and local music. He also won 2nd place for Best Broadcast News Story at the 2023 ACP Spring Conference for a story about sexual assault on campus. Gonzalez looks forward to reviving Stinger Sound Sessions, The State Hornet’s take on Tiny Desk Concert-style music showcases featuring local artists.

The $6,000 Rich Pedroncelli Scholarship was awarded to Emma Hall, a Sacramento State student who transferred from Diablo Valley College. This is her second year winning a Sacramento Press Club scholarship. She served as editor for diversity, equity, and inclusion for her college paper, The State Hornet. She also works for the CalMatters College Journalism Network, where she has reported on the experiences of Native students at tribal colleges. This summer, she will attend Politico’s Journalism Institute and will intern for NPR. Judges were impressed by all the work she has done in the last year and her dedication to improving coverage of marginalized communities.

The $4,000 Jim Stimson Scholarship was awarded to Madeleine Beck, a second-time scholarship winner. She is a graduate student at New York University’s digital storytelling and magazine program. She previously attended Sacramento State, where she worked for The State Hornet. She has also worked for CalMatters College Journalism Network, Salon, the San Francisco Examiner and Comstock’s magazine. Judges were impressed by her enthusiasm and passion for journalism.

The $4,000 Jerry Gilliam scholarship was awarded to Julietta Bisharyan, a student at UC Berkeley. She is currently working with KQED on its investigative reporting into police accountability within California’s prisons. This summer she plans to return to Sacramento to work as a Capitol Bureau intern for the Sacramento Bee. Julietta is interested in multimedia and data-driven investigative reporting. She previously studied at UC Davis, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree. Judges were impressed by her enthusiasm for journalism and her excellent writing skills.

The $4,000 Erika Smith Scholarship goes to Antonio Rodriguez. He attends school at Sacramento State, where he has been named editor-in-chief of The State Hornet. Rodriguez says he’s passionate about reporting on communities that aren’t often in the spotlight, including unhoused people and the LGBTQ community. His professor, Sacramento Bee reporter Philip Reese, wrote in his letter of recommendation that Antonio “has a great eye for a compelling news story.” Judges were impressed by his enthusiasm for seeking out tough stories that need to be told.

The $6,300 Dale Kasler Scholarship goes to Sacramento State journalism student Sara Nevis, a second-time scholarship winner. A single mom and Sacramento City College transfer, she continued to impress judges as a resourceful, observant, and innovative journalist. Sara discovered a passion for photography after cancer sidelined her from a career as a military air traffic controller, then she developed her writing and multimedia skills. She freelances for the Stockton Record and is the multimedia editor for The State Hornet. This year, she joined the New York Times Student Journalism Institute and will intern for the Sacramento Bee.

The $4,000 Lonnie Wong Scholarship is awarded to Madeleine Beck, who is graduating from Sacramento State and attending NYU’s digital storytelling and magazine graduate program this fall. Judges liked Madeleine’s natural instinct for news, strong reporting and commitment to doing the hard work to make a difference. Her reporting for The State Hornet forced a deadline extension for students to receive parking permit refunds. She has worked for CalMatters College Journalism Network, interned at the San Francisco Examiner and freelanced for Comstock’s.

The $4,000 Laurel Rosenhall Scholarship goes to Katherine Huggins. A Sacramentan graduating early from The New School, she’s interned for uPolitics, Public Seminar and Mediaite and will publish a story this summer that examines media coverage of gun violence. Then she’s off to Northwestern’s graduate journalism program specializing in her passion: politics, policy and foreign affairs. She told judges she’s not a political junkie but they weren’t convinced. After all, she’s looking forward to working on Capitol Hill.

The $4,000 Jerry Gillam Scholarship goes to Dylan Svoboda, a second-time scholarship winner. Dylan is at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, where he’s participated in the Investigative Reporting Program that is part of a collaboration to obtain and report on police records. He earlier worked for the Mountain Democrat and interned or freelanced at several other Sacramento-area newspapers after graduating from UC Davis. Judges said that foundation in local news helped him to flourish as a reporter. “His writing has a flow and energy to it,” judges said.

The $6,200 Dale Kasler Scholarship goes to Rose Vega, a Sacramento City College transfer to Sacramento State who has been supporting herself since age 17. She wrote a compelling magazine piece about how she was molested in daycare as a young child, using legal documents and interviews to augment her memory.

The $4,000 Jerry Gillam Scholarship goes to Meghan Bobrowsky, who has interned at the Philadelphia Inquirer and The Sacramento Bee. She is headed to the Miami Herald this summer and is the the rare journalist who loves math and budget stories.