Sahara Sajjadi, a graduate assistant at The Reynolds Center, has been awarded a Trust in Reporting scholarship by the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA). The WHCA provides scholarships to journalism students in 16 colleges and universities around the country. In total, 29 students received scholarships from the WHCA this year.
Sajjadi will be using this scholarship to fund her final graduate semester at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, which will be spent at the Cronkite D.C. bureau this summer. Sajjadi hopes to report on politics, social issues, and culture during her time in the nation’s capital and will be graduating with a Master’s in Mass Communication at the completion of the summer semester.
As a scholarship recipient, Sajjadi will be traveling to D.C. to attend the annual White House Correspondents Dinner on April 27 alongside esteemed journalists and other notable figures. Additionally, on April 26, the 2024 scholarship recipients will be featured at a luncheon and program in their honor and will be visiting the White House Press Room.
The WCHA provides these scholarships to invest in the next generation of journalists and help them get their foot in the door.
“Our student scholars represent the energy, curiosity and creativity of young content creators who have excelled in their studies and will chart their own paths in professional reporting,” WHCA President Kelly O’Donnell said in the announcement. “As institutions everywhere face crises in public confidence, our student scholars bring a fresh perspective and a desire to better understand the world around them.”
This is the second year in a row a graduate student from The Reynolds Center has been awarded the Trust in Reporting scholarship from WHCA. Lauren Irwin, similarly received this scholarship to fund her final semester at Cronkite in 2023 and is currently a breaking news reporter at The Hill in Washington D.C.
The scholarship, awarded in the amount of $7,000, is made possible by proceeds from the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner and contributions made to the WHCA.
