Students Honored for Camp Stories

Isabel Saavedra-Weis and Ayo Olagbaju
Isabel Saavedra-Weis and Ayo Olagbaju

Two ThreeSixty Journalism students were honored for their stories produced at ThreeSixty’s News Reporter Academy camp, which is a two-week program in the summer.

MNA Better Newspaper Contest

Isabel Saavedra-Weis  earned second place in the Minnesota Newspaper Association Better Newspaper Contest in the business story category.

Saavedra-Weis’ wrote her story about the Sioux Chef, titled “Reclaiming Culture Feeds into a Healthy Life” at News Reporter Academy in summer 2018 while she was a senior at the St. Paul Academy and Summit School. ThreeSixty high school students compete at the college level in the Better Newspaper Contest.

The judge commented, “Excellent profile of a business person who is making a difference in the community.”

Saavedra-Weis is studying at Macalester College and is a staff writer for The Mac Weekly. She will intern at the Pioneer Press this summer.

Dow Jones News Fund Scholarship

Ayo Olagbaju (Patrick Henry High School) earned the Dow Jones News Fund Award of Excellence for her 2019 News Reporter Academy story, “Swimmers Synchronize Social Justice”,  about local synchronized swim team, The Subversive Sirens.

Along with the national award, Olagbaju will receive a $1,000 scholarship to study journalism at the college level, which she plans to do in the fall.

Olagbaju wrote in her application essay, “Once I was introduced to the world of journalism, I realized that it was something I wanted to be part of. It incorporated a lot of the things I loved, including writing and speaking.”

Olagbaju was one of six students nationally who earned DJNF scholarship. The Dow Jones News Fund granted ThreeSixty funding for News Reporter Academy.

Both stories were produced in partnership with the Center for Prevention at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota. Stories written in News Reporter Academy are also published in the Pioneer Press and Star Tribune.

ThreeSixty is accepting applications for its 2020 News Reporter Academy, which will be held from July 13 – July 24, 2020, at the University of St. Thomas College of Arts and Sciences. In week one, students learn about the different opportunities in media and communication, engage in related activities, hear from experienced journalists and communicators, and set the stage for week two – writing a reported story that will be published in both the print and digital versions of ThreeSixty Magazine.

 Applications are due March 31 and are available online.