Each year, the University of St. Thomas awards one full-tuition scholarship to an entering first-time, first-year student who completed a ThreeSixty Journalism summer camp and intends to study a program in the Department of Emerging Media at St. Thomas.
Log in to apply for 2023 ThreeSixty Scholarship. Before you apply for the scholarship, you must have been accepted to St. Thomas. We recommend applying to the university’s Nov. 1, 2022 early application deadline for fall 2023 entry. Here is a list of key St. Thomas admission and scholarship dates.
November 1, 2022 – Early action application deadline.
December 15, 2022 – Early action admission decision.
January 15, 2023 – Regular decision application deadline.
February 15, 2023 – Regular admission decision; recommended deadline for submitting Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or Minnesota Dream Act application. Code St. Thomas as a recipient of that information at 002345.
March 2, 2023 – ThreeSixty Scholarship application deadline.
March 11, 2023 – ThreeSixty Scholarship finalist interviews (9:00 a.m. – Noon)
May 1, 2023 – Deadline for acceptance of all scholarships.
Learn more about Emerging Media Scholarships, including the ThreeSixty Scholarship. To learn more about the undergraduate application process, click here. In addition, a separate St. Thomas scholarship opportunity is the Dease Scholarship Program. The deadline for that is Feb. 13, 2023.
Jaydin Fairbanks, 2023 ThreeSixty Scholar
Jaydin Fairbanks, a member of Osseo Senior High School class 
of 2023, is the recipient of the 2023 ThreeSixty Journalism Scholarship. He is awarded a full tuition, four-year scholarship to study journalism in the Department of Emerging Media at the University of St. Thomas College of Arts and Sciences, starting in fall 2023.
“I want to make society happier, make people have a better standing in society and help people be happier,” he said.
Fairbanks discovered ThreeSixty courtesy of his mom, Arlene Fairbanks, who at the height of the pandemic was looking for something to keep him busy. In the summer of 2021, Covid pandemic in full swing, there weren’t many opportunities to keep Jaydin occupied. Luckily there was Radio Broadcast Camp, a collaboration between ThreeSixty and MPR. Fairbanks subsequently participated in Digital Essay and TV Broadcast Camp.
Arlene has high hopes for Jaydin.
“I hope for him to become a role model within our community,” she said, “and one day bring his knowledge, skills and experiences to help address the challenges many face living on the reservation and in other Native communities. I hope he will create a ripple effect throughout and will inspire and motivate others to pursue their own educational aspirations.”
Gwynnevere Vang, 2022 ThreeSixty Scholar
Gwynnevere Vang, a member of the Tartan Senior High School class of 2022, is the 2022 ThreeSIxty Journalism Scholar. She receives a full-tuition, four-year scholarship to study journalism in the Department of Emerging Media at the University of St. Thomas College of Arts and Sciences, starting in fall 2022.
Vang said winning the scholarship is a big honor for her as well as her family.
“I’m the first grandchild in my family to go to college, and with a full-tuition scholarship, so it sets the bar for succession and motivation for the younger generations,” she said. “It also acknowledges how taking opportunities toward interests can lead to a future career and makes me more of a role model than I already was.”
In fall 2022, Vang was selected as an inaugural member of The New York Times Corps, a talent-pipeline program for college students to receive career guidance from Times journalists over a multiyear period.
France Aravena, 2021 ThreeSixty Scholar
France Aravena is the 2021 ThreeSixty Scholar.
“It’s a big honor. I’ve always looked up to the other ThreeSixty scholars,” Aravena said. “Now I can be one of them as well.”
A Wayzata High School 2021 graduate, Aravena joined ThreeSixty in the summer 2019 and participated in News Reporter Academy, Radio Camp, Digital Media Arts Camp and ThreeSixty’s school year News Team.
During summer 2021, Aravena participated in the Reaching Excellence in Academics and Leadership (REAL) Program, a selective, five-week academic and co-curricular orientation program for students who are members of groups traditionally underrepresented in higher education (including students of color, asylees, refugees, and permanent residents) that are newly committed to attending the University of St. Thomas.
Aravena’s ThreeSixty portfolio includes a piece on USA Gymnast Sunisa Lee, a social media story about Main Street Project, an op-ed on the importance of wearing a face mask, a personal essay asking why teens can’t vote until they’re 18 years old, and more.
Jos Morss, 2020 ThreeSixty Scholar
Jos Morss is the 2020 ThreeSixty Scholar and an Emerging Media major at St. Thomas. During the 2020-21 school year, Morss worked as a reporter for TommieMedia, the campus newspaper.
Morss, who prefers the gender-neutral pronouns they/them/their, is a 2020 graduate of Lakeville North High School and served as editor of the school’s newspaper. They participated in ThreeSixty’s TV Broadcast and Radio Broadcast camps, as well as ThreeSixty’s school-year News Team and Learning Labs. Their reporting subjects included USA gymnast Sunisa Lee, Ananya Dance Theater and Juxtaposition Arts.
“ThreeSixty gave me a sense of purpose,” Morss said. “ThreeSixty completely changed my life.”
Kai Sanchez Avila, 2019 ThreeSixty Scholar
Kai Sanchez Avila is the 2019 ThreeSixty Scholar and an Emerging Media major at St. Thomas. In spring 2021, she began producing and hosting a podcast, “How WE View It,” which advocates for youth to voice their opinions regarding Minneapolis politics, current events and more. The podcast can be streamed on Spotify.
Sanchez Avila, a 2019 graduate of Hiawatha Collegiate High School in Minneapolis, joined ThreeSixty in summer 2017. She also participated in the American Asian Journalists Association’s 2018 JCamp, a prestigious program for top high school students nationwide.
“Being the winner of this scholarship is a huge deal not only to me but to my family,” Sanchez Avila said. “It proves that doing what you love and being creative can be rewarding. It also means my family and I don’t have to worry about the what-if possibilities.”
Zekriah Chaudhry, 2018 ThreeSixty Scholar
Zekriah Chaudhry is the 2018 ThreeSixty Scholar. He’s a journalism and political science double major at St. Thomas and continues his engagement with ThreeSixty as a volunteer writing coach and editor. Chaudry has held reporting jobs with Tommie Media, Pioneer Press and MPLS/St. Paul Business Journal. During his sophomore year at St. Thomas, Chaudry studied abroad in Rome, Italy. Chaudry was a reporting intern for Star Tribune over the 2021 summer.
Chaudhry, a 2018 graduate of Minneapolis South High School, joined ThreeSixty in summer 2014 and participated in ThreeSixty throughout high school.
“I want to be a professional journalist,” Chaudhry said upon being named the 2018 scholar. “I hope to have nationally recognized work and a reputation as an honest and trustworthy journalist.”
Samantha HoangLong, 2017 ThreeSixty Scholar
Samantha HoangLong is the 2017 ThreeSixty Scholar and a 2020 graduate of St. Thomas, earning a B.A. in Communication and Journalism, minoring in Sustainability and the Renaissance Program.
HoangLong joined ThreeSixty in summer 2016 and soon established herself as a committed student eager to learn and practice journalism.
“While attending ThreeSixty Journalism summer camps, I learned the basics of journalism,” HoangLong said. “It also reminded me of the need for more multicultural journalists.”
When she was awarded the ThreeSixty Scholarship in 2016, HoangLong shared what the opportunity meant to her.
“It puts me on a pathway that is the start of an exciting life journey,” HoangLong said. “I couldn’t be more thankful for ThreeSixty.”
Danielle Wong, 2016 ThreeSixty Scholar
Danielle Wong graduated from St. Thomas in May 2020 with a major in Communication 
and Journalism and a minor in Justice and Peace Studies. She is currently working in Washington, D.C. as the Multi-Media Strategic Communications Fellow for the national nonprofit Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC. During her time at St. Thomas, Wong interned at MPR News, studied abroad in Taiwan, wrote for MPR’s Call to Mind, and advocated for many equity and justice initiatives. In summer 2020, Wong was awarded the Taiwan Ministry of Education’s international language scholarship to study Chinese in Taipei for six months.
Wong’s journey with ThreeSixty began with a summer 2013 journalism camp at St. Thomas. She won two College Better Newspaper Minnesota Newspaper Association awards with ThreeSixty.
“ThreeSixty inspired me to become a story writer who gives a voice to those who are rarely heard,” Wong said. “The program provided a safe place to hone my skills and find my voice, so I can make an impact in my community and beyond.”
Amira Warren-Yearby, 2015 ThreeSixty Scholar
Warren-Yearby is a graduate of St. Louis Park High School. She participated in ThreeSixty’s 2013 Journalism Summer Camp and is a member of the 2014-15 ThreeSixty Student Executive Board. During her tenure at ThreeSixty, Warren-Yearby has reported on topics such as race, religion, and technology. She was also one of 42 teenagers selected to attend the Asian American Journalist Association’s J-Camp in 2014, in Boston.
As a young journalist, she has developed an interest in poverty and homelessness in the United States, the achievement gap, and the lack of African-American studies in schools. “Being chosen to be a ThreeSixty Scholar means more than going to college with minimal debt, but fulfilling the goal I set for myself growing up, which is going to college,” Warren-Yearby said. “I will be attending my top choice of schools and have a shot at a brighter future.”
Deborah Honore, 2014 ThreeSixty Scholar
Honore is a graduate of John F. Kennedy High School in Bloomington. She participated in ThreeSixty’s 2013 Journalism Summer Camp and continued in the program as a senior reporter for the ThreeSixty News Team. She is currently a student worker for ThreeSixty and the UST’s videography department.
“For me, the ThreeSixty Journalism Scholarship means a lot of things for me. It means financial security. It means I will always have support in Communication and Journalism. Most importantly, with this scholarship I can pursue what I love.”
Simeon Lancaster, 2013 ThreeSixty Scholar
Lancaster is a graduate of the ThreeSixty News Team. Currently, he works with ThreeSixty on special projects and serves as the university affairs editor at TommieMedia. Lancaster also is an intern reporter at Round Earth Media and plans on studying journalism abroad in fall 2015.
“To me, the ThreeSixty Journalism scholarship is more than the path to a debt-free future,” Lancaster said. “The scholarship has placed me in a school that is able to provide me the opportunities to network and learn in and out of the classroom.”
Grace Pastoor, 2012 ThreeSixty Scholar
Pastoor is a graduate of St. Louis Park High School. She participated in two ThreeSixty Journalism Summer Camps and in 2011 attended the Asian American Journalists Association’s prestigious JCamp. While studying journalism at UST, she writes and edits stories as a student executive of TommieMedia and continues to serve as an active volunteer and mentor at ThreeSixty
“The ThreeSixty Journalism scholarship has given me an opportunity to become involved in student media, which has in turn prepared me for internships and future jobs,” Pastoor said. “Without this scholarship, I would not have been able to learn the practical applications of journalism or receive the opportunities I have been given since starting college.”
Tyanna Dickerson, 2011 ThreeSixty Scholar
Dickerson is a graduate of South High School in Minneapolis. She has participated in Campus Outreach and has worked as a research technician at Hennepin County Medical Center’s Pediatrics Department. She would like to pursue a career in visual communications.
“ThreeSixty is more than a program that helps one with their skills in reporting and journalism. It is a program for people who have a passion for telling factual stories, stories that affect people every day. ThreeSixty is a program that equips you to be bold — bold enough to talk about the issues that society may not want you to talk about.”
Yung Jen Vang, 2010 ThreeSixty Scholar
Vang is a graduate of Central High School in St. Paul who attended ThreeSixty Journalism’s 2009 summer camp. As an aspiring writer, she has a passion for giving, sharing, raising awareness, and learning. Vang enjoys blogging as well as reading interesting literary works as often as possible.
“I am thankful for ThreeSixty because it is more than a program for building skills in journalism and writing—it is home and support for its aspiring writers. Most unique is the way that ThreeSixty builds relationships with high school students. ThreeSixty provides exemplary support, guidance, and help, and builds confidence, inspiration, individuality, and boldness. It truly allows participants to explore their dreams and opportunities without limitations.”
