NAHJ celebrates the 2025 Student Project, Scholarship and Internship recipients

NAHJ celebrates the 2025 Student Project, Scholarship and Internship recipients

We are thrilled to introduce the 2025 Student Project team along with this year’s NAHJ internship and scholarship recipients — an extraordinary group of emerging journalists representing the very best of what’s to come in the industry.

This year, we received more than 70 impressive applications from across the country, and we’re proud to award over $25,000 in scholarships and internship support. From Puerto Rico to California, our recipients reflect the rich diversity of the Latino community and bring with them bold ideas, passion and a commitment to impactful storytelling.

“These students are nothing short of phenomenal,” said Yaneth Guillen-Diaz, NAHJ Executive Director. “They’ve stood out among a competitive pool of applicants and are already showing signs of the changemakers they’re destined to become. NAHJ is honored to invest in their growth and to be part of their journey.”

NAHJ’s programs are rooted in our mission to increase Latino representation in newsrooms and elevate the quality of news coverage of Latino communities. Through the Student Project, internships, and scholarships, we are actively building a pipeline of talented journalists who reflect the communities they serve.

“We don’t just talk about creating opportunities — we deliver on that promise,” added Dunia Elvir, NAHJ President. “These initiatives are our way of giving back, opening doors, and showing young journalists they belong in this industry.”

We congratulate all of this year’s recipients and look forward to seeing how they will shape the future of journalism.

See the this year’s recipients below:

About NAHJ Internships
NAHJ partners with leading news and media organizations to offer students and early career journalists invaluable hands-on experience. Our internships provide the opportunity to work alongside top newsroom leaders and industry professionals, helping you build the skills and connections needed to succeed in the field.

About NAHJ Scholarship Program
Each year, NAHJ helps students pursuing careers in journalism through scholarship support. NAHJ has awarded nearly $2 million in scholarship dollars, since the program began. We are proud to award scholarships to deserving individuals who show exceptional promise and dedication to the field of journalism. 

About the NAHJ Student Project
Many journalists, leaders and educators got their start through the NAHJ Student Project. NAHJ was the first diverse journalism organization to create a convention newsroom training opportunity for students. College students will work on improving their skills in a newsroom setting during the annual NAHJ Conference & Expo. Under the guidance of professional mentors, students will write, report, shoot and edit video, shoot photos and cover events on social media to help prepare them to compete in a challenging media market. NAHJ students will produce stories on the national conference and on the Latinx community for the Latino Reporter Digital, the website dedicated to the Student Project. NAHJ covers the students’ travel, convention registration, hotel and meals for the convention.

For more information about NAHJ and its programs, visit here.

2025 NAHJ Student Project Team

Alana M. Rosario Sánchez
Universidad de Puerto Rico en Arecibo
Major: Comunicación Tele Radial, Minor in News Production

Araceli Ramirez
Columbia College Chicago
Major: Creative Writing

Ashley Camila Neyra
University of Maryland – College Park
Major: Journalism, Minor in Spanish

Gian Marco Velasquez
University of Southern California
Major: Journalism, Minor in Legal Studies

Luisiana Ortiz
Syracuse University
Major: Journalism & Data Analytics

Morelys Urbano
Morgan State University
Major: Multimedia Journalism, Minor in Latin American & Carribbean Studies

Oriana Carolina Torre Da Silva
University of Florida
Major: Journalism, Minor of Latin American Studies

Paul C. Fisher
Newberry College
Major: Communications-Journalism, Minor in Political Science

Micah Sandy
Northwestern University
Major: Journalism and Political Science, Minor in Classical Studies

Susan Alejandra Barnett
University of Arizona
Major: Bilingual Journalism

Viviana Garcia
California State University Fullerton
Major: Communications Journalism, Minor in Spanish

Wesley J. Pérez Vidal
Universidad del Sagrado Corazón
Major: Interdisciplinary Communication, Minor in Psychology and Journalism

2025 Scholarship Recipients

Amanda DeJesus –  NAHJ María Elena Salinas Scholarship
New York University
Major: Multimedia Journalism

Andrea Michelle Fonseca – NAHJ Cecilia Alvear Scholarship
Florida International University
Major: Journalism

Avril Diana Silva – NAHJ Lori Montenegro Scholarship +  NAHJ-NYU Scholarship
George Washington University
Major: Journalism and Mass Communications, Minor in International Affairs

Nathan Jacob Gonzalez – NAHJ White House Correspondents’ Association Scholarship
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Major: Journalism, Minor in Legal Studies

Oscar Flores Pavon – NAHJ María Elena Salinas Scholarship
Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY
Major: Bilingual Journalism, Minor in Broadcast Journalism

2025 Ruben Salazar Scholarship Recipients

Alexander Hernandez Gonzalez
Northwestern University
Major: Journalism and Latino/a Studies, Minor in Political Science

Ana Maria Bentancourt Ovalle
Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY
Major: Broadcast Journalism

Estefania Arellano-Bermudez
Henry Ford College
Major: TBD

Aurora Cecilia Martínez Molina
Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY
Major: Journalism

Erika Yadira Konig
University of Memphis
Major: Journalism

Isabela Fleischmann do Amaral
New York University
Major: Business and Economic Reporting

Juan Carlos Ramirez Delgadillo
University of North Texas
Major: Journalism -Digital and Print Concentration, Minor in Spanish

Kiara Liz Maldonado Acevedo
Universidad de Puerto Rico en Arecibo
Major: Comunicación Tele-Radial, Minor in Producción de noticias

Mariana Sofía Caro Quintana
Emerson College
Major: Journalism, Minor in Pre-Law

Mariana Almendra Quezada Marquez
University of Illinois Urbana Campaign
Major: Journalism, Minor in Creative Writing & Critical Film Production

Marina Isabel Meretz
University of Florida
Major: Journalism, Minor in Women’s Studies

Maryanne Casas-Perez
California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt
Major: Journalism

Nicholas Heber Cruz
Florida Atlantic University
Major: Communication Studies, Minor in Leadership Studies

Vivian Hernandez Mejia
University of Arkansas
Major: Journalism

Yarithza Liceaga López
Universidad de Puerto Rico en Arecibo
Major: News Production, Minor in Production and Direction

2025 Internship Recipients

Roman Constantine Aguilar
San Diego State University
Major: Journalism, Minor in Communications

Assignment: The Arizona Republic/The Pedro Gomez Foundation

Nicol Valeri León Arge
Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY
Major: Bilingual Journalism, Minor in Data Journalism

Assignment: The Arizona Republic/The Pedro Gomez Foundation

Santiago Rodriguez Arana García
Louisiana State University
Major: Mass Communication (Journalism), Minor in Communication Studies

Assignment: ABC News

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