By Phil Kaplan
APSE continues its commitment to collegiate sports journalism by awarding four scholarships for 2024.
And for the fourth year in row, two of the scholarships are awarded to students attending historically Black colleges and universities.
Kathleen Ortiz, who will be a junior at Rice, is awarded the Joe Sullivan/Jack Berninger Scholarship; Shelly Swanson, a senior at North Carolina, will receive the Roy Hewitt/Tim Wheatley Scholarship; Caulin Avery, a senior at North Carolina A&T, along with Wynton Jackson, a senior at Hampton, are the recipients of the Garry D. Howard Scholarships.
The scholarships are for $1,250 apiece and are awarded based on the quality of the candidates’ journalism, academic record and need. The scholarship was established in 2007 by then-APSE president Mike Fannin. All four winners also receive complimentary APSE student memberships.
Ortiz is a double major in social policy analysis and sports management with a concentration in sports law. She is the sports editor for the Rice Thresher, the school’s newspaper. This summer, Ortiz did an internship at a Houston law firm.
Swanson is a journalism and Spanish major. Swanson recently completed an internship at The News & Observer in Raleigh as part of the Sports Journalism Institute. Swanson will continue to work for The N&O as a freelancer assisting on the North Carolina athletics beat.
Avery is a journalism mass communications major. He is the executive producer for college’s news station, Aggie News, and for the second year in a row will be the sports editor of TheSCORE, the school’s newspaper.
Jackson is pursuing a degree in journalism and leadership studies. He recently completed a summer internship at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel as part of SJI. Wynton has worked as sports editor and web editor at the Hampton Script, the school’s newspaper. He will be the lead writer this year for Saber Sports talk show.
Members of the APSE Scholarship committee are John Devine of the Miami Herald, Naila Meyers of the Minnesota Star Tribune, Julie Jag of the Salt Lake Tribune, Lisa Wilson of The Athletic, Jane Havsy of the Daily Record, Perryn Keys of The Buffalo News, and Phil Kaplan of the USA TODAY Network South Region.
