2026 ThreeSixty scholar Margarita Rosales Alarcón works with volunteer editor Trisha Collopy, Sahan Journal news editor, during ThreeSixty’s 2025 opinion workshop. All photos by David Pierini
Margarita Rosales Alarcón of Venture Academy in Minneapolis has been named ThreeSixty Journalism’s 2026 Scholar.
This award grants her a full-tuition, four-year scholarship to study Emerging Media at the University of St. Thomas College of Arts and Sciences, beginning this fall.
Once a shy teenager who kept to herself, Rosales Alarcón says she found her voice, her “freedom,” and a community through the more than ten ThreeSixty programs she participated in during high school, including the program’s inaugural youth leadership board.
“I love to talk, and I talk a lot—Threesixty has helped that. I have so many things to say.” she said.
The daughter of Mexican immigrants from Puebla, she carved out a niche in the program producing commentary about immigrant experiences in Minnesota.
“A lot of my peers deny that their ancestors aren’t from here. I want to be connected to who I am and who my parents are and where they come from,” she said.
A defining moment followed her participation in the program’s annual opinion workshop during her junior year. She wrote a piece—Rather than ‘stealing’ jobs, immigrants take on the work Americans don’t want to do—published by Sahan Journal. “I received a little bit of backlash. But I didn’t care. I felt like it was what needed to be said,” she said.
Some of that backlash came from those in her own community who agreed with her thoughts but did not want her to share them publicly. “They didn’t want me to put myself out there and expose myself,” she said.
Pushing through that fear was rewarding. “Me choosing to do something for myself felt good. It felt good to speak my thoughts and opinions,” she said.
In October 2025, she sounded an alarm about the violent presence of ICE in her community through another piece that ran in Sahan Journal.
“Here in Minnesota, I have watched families being ripped apart. Fathers, mothers and siblings taken in broad daylight,” she wrote. “One of my relatives was pulled out of his work truck alongside his co-workers. His wife heard the commotion from down the street. In an instant, she and their four daughters lost their husband, father and main source of income.”
In the months that followed, her family’s struggle intensified as ICE agents descended on the state in unprecedented numbers.
She still feels frustrated by the lack of attention ICE’s violence received until two white people—Renee Good and Alex Pretti—were killed. “There is still so much work to do in our communities and in local news,” she said.
She describes ThreeSixty as a “support system” that helped her discover that journalism is relevant and essential to her and her community.
“Being new to journalism, you can learn and feel like you belong in the space,” she said. “[ThreeSixty makes it] accessible. You get paid to learn. That’s what we need—especially people of color who feel like it’s not for them.”
Her excitement about her scholarship is mixed with some anxiety. She has two older siblings, but she is the first to go to college.
“Growing up, we struggled financially. My dad had to work out of state, and we didn’t see him a lot. He faced a lot of stereotyping and racism. There were so many struggles going on,” she said.
Her family’s sacrifice and support motivate her to embrace the opportunity in front of her despite her fear. “I don’t know what’s in store for me, but I believe in myself that I can do it.”
To ease the transition, she will take part in the university’s Reaching Excellence in Academics and Leadership Program this summer. It is a selective, five-week academic and co-curricular orientation program for students who are first generation.
She has not declared a major yet, but she is leaning toward strategic communication. In recent years she has embraced her Catholic faith more fully and looks forward to continuing that at St. Thomas.
She will be a commuter student, and her whole family is preparing to support her. They are considering a move to Saint Paul, and her brother will be her transportation in the meantime.
She does not yet have a specific vision for her life after college but she is interested in law school. She is confident in her path as long as she keeps taking advantage of the opportunities that come her way while staying rooted in her identity and truth.
Rosales Alarcón was selected for the ThreeSixty scholarship from a competitive pool of applicants who participated in ThreeSixty Journalism programming. ThreeSixty supports four students attending St. Thomas with the scholarship annually. More than 25 scholarships have been awarded since 2001.
Rosales Alarcón conducts an interview in the Pioneer Press’ state capitol office in 2025. She completed more than ten ThreeSixty workshops during her high school career.
