ThreeSixty Journalism has selected ThreeSixty student Zekriah Chaudhry as the 2018 ThreeSixty Scholar. Chaudhry receives a full-tuition, four-year scholarship to study Communication and Journalism at St. Thomas starting in the 2018 fall semester.
Each year, high school seniors who are graduates of a ThreeSixty summer journalism camp compete for the ThreeSixty Scholar award – valued at more than $160,000 over four years.
“I love storytelling and can’t wait to develop new tools to help me do that better,” Chaudhry said. “Journalism is a fast-developing field, and it will be great to have St. Thomas’s COJO professors help me find my place in it.”
Chaudhry, a senior at Minneapolis South High School, joined ThreeSixty in summer 2014 and wrapped up his participation this spring. During that time, he successfully completed numerous print journalism camps with ThreeSixty, as well as TV and radio broadcast camps.
As part of his ThreeSixty experience, Chaudhry recently reported on activities surrounding Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis, covered a Minnesota Timberwolves game as part of a partnership with the team and Star Tribune, and wrote a profile on St. Thomas College of Arts and Sciences Dean Dr. Yohuru Williams.
In January 2018, Chaudhry took home a Minnesota Newspaper Association “Better Newspaper Contest” second-place honor in the business category for his story on media companies embracing virtual reality as a storytelling tool.
“Zekriah started with ThreeSixty the summer before his freshman year in high school,” said ThreeSixty executive director Chad Caruthers. “He’s grown into a curious, skilled and passionate young journalist. He earned this scholarship and the opportunities that come with it.”
For Chaudhry, the scholarship represents another important step toward achieving his goal.
“I want to be a professional journalist,” Chaudhry said. “I hope to have nationally recognized work and a reputation as an honest and trustworthy journalist.”
Currently, there are four ThreeSixty scholars attending St. Thomas.
