63rd Annual Gertrude Gordon Scholarship Contest
Congratulations to the 2019 winners!
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First place: Kieran McLean — University of Pittsburgh
Kieran McLean is a senior English major at the University of Pittsburgh. His work has appeared in PublicSource, where he currently interns; Popula; and Belt Magazine. He also has work set to publish soon in CityLab. Second place: Mattie Winowitch — Waynesburg University Mattie Winowitch is a senior journalism major and public relations minor at Waynesburg University. She is the executive editor of her school’s newspaper, The Yellow Jacket. She has also spent the past two years working for UPMC’s Media Relations department and currently freelances for UPMC as both a writer and content creator. Mattie produces award-winning work and has been recognized by several organizations, including the Society of Professional Journalists, the PA News Media Association, the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh and the American Scholastic Press Association. Third place: Teghan Simonton — Waynesburg University Teghan Simonton is a senior journalism student at Waynesburg University. In addition to winning 2nd place in 2016's Gertrude Gordon Scholarship Contest, she has won numerous regional and national awards from the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association and the Society of Professional Journalists. Teghan is the Region Editor for Waynesburg's award-winning, student-run newspaper, The Yellow Jacket, and has also interned at Pittsburgh Magazine and The Chronicle of Higher Education. After graduation, Teghan will complete a third internship at USA Today Investigations. |
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2019 Contest speaker: Olivia BensonOlivia Benson works as a consultant for her firm Civic Impact Strategies, after serving as community engagement director of the Women and Girls Foundation. Her experience includes leading communications for political campaigns, working as the director of youth policy for the city of Pittsburgh, and she is considering a run for state auditor general. She holds a bachelor’s degree in public policy and management from Carnegie Mellon University, an MBA from Point Park University, and a master’s in social policy from the University of Pennsylvania.
Benson spoke to students on Feb. 22, 2019, at the Point Park Center for Media Innovation. |
Information about the contest:
Eligibility:
- Full-time undergraduate sophomores, juniors and seniors at local colleges. Male and female students welcome.
- Western Pennsylvania residents or attendee of Western Pennsylvania college or university
- No regularly published material in professional media (except as student intern or occasional stringer). Student media staff members welcome.
- Students will receive some background information on the speaker but are encouraged to do additional research to prepare for the interview session.
- Contest entrants will interview the speaker together for about one hour, then they will have two hours to write a news feature story based on the information gathered in the session.
- Entries will be selected on a blind-judging system by local journalists.
- Winners will be notified by club officials of prizes of up to $2,000 and invited to the Women’s Press Club’s anniversary dinner in April.
- Transcripts must be provided to the scholarship committee chair to verify student status and to pass on to our funder, the Pittsburgh Foundation. An unofficial transcript is acceptable and that information will be kept confidential.
For printable rules, download a PDF:
Awarding students for more than six decades
The Women’s Press Club scholarship competition honors Gertrude Gordon, one of the first female reporters in Pittsburgh to have her byline appear over her articles.
She joined the Pittsburgh Press in 1908 and for 19 years reported what Pittsburgh women were doing and saying, according to a 100-year history of the Women’s Press Club written by Ann Zurosky. Gordon had a flamboyant style and was blackballed for a time by the club because of her sensational style of writing. When she was finally admitted to the club, she remained a faithful member until she left for New York.
Check out this biography of Gertrude Gordon from the Post-Gazette's Digs blog with some great photos!
A year after Gordon's death in 1955, her family and friends and co-workers started a scholarship fund in her memory. The first winner, Rose Marie Scarpiello, a journalism major at the University of Pittsburgh was awarded a $75 prize. The club has remained committed to the scholarship fund through the years, and it has held the feature writing competition annually – and the prizes have definitely increased. Originally the contest was held at the newspapers in town, but it has been housed at Point Park University for nearly 20 years.
In 2017, participants interviewed Tom Kurlander, founder of 21Voices. In 2016, students interviewed janera solomon, executive director of the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater in East Liberty. See 2015 and 2014's winners in our banquet recaps on the News page. In 2013, entrants profiled staff member of Allegheny County controller Chelsa Wagner. Tegan Hanlon, of the University of Pittsburgh, was awarded first place in 2013. After a summer internship at The Dallas Morning News, she is now a reporter at the Anchorage Daily News.
She joined the Pittsburgh Press in 1908 and for 19 years reported what Pittsburgh women were doing and saying, according to a 100-year history of the Women’s Press Club written by Ann Zurosky. Gordon had a flamboyant style and was blackballed for a time by the club because of her sensational style of writing. When she was finally admitted to the club, she remained a faithful member until she left for New York.
Check out this biography of Gertrude Gordon from the Post-Gazette's Digs blog with some great photos!
A year after Gordon's death in 1955, her family and friends and co-workers started a scholarship fund in her memory. The first winner, Rose Marie Scarpiello, a journalism major at the University of Pittsburgh was awarded a $75 prize. The club has remained committed to the scholarship fund through the years, and it has held the feature writing competition annually – and the prizes have definitely increased. Originally the contest was held at the newspapers in town, but it has been housed at Point Park University for nearly 20 years.
In 2017, participants interviewed Tom Kurlander, founder of 21Voices. In 2016, students interviewed janera solomon, executive director of the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater in East Liberty. See 2015 and 2014's winners in our banquet recaps on the News page. In 2013, entrants profiled staff member of Allegheny County controller Chelsa Wagner. Tegan Hanlon, of the University of Pittsburgh, was awarded first place in 2013. After a summer internship at The Dallas Morning News, she is now a reporter at the Anchorage Daily News.
2018 winners:
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First place: Hallie Lauer — Duquesne University
Hallie Lauer is a sophomore journalism and political science dual major at Duquesne University. She is the layout and features editor for The Duquesne Duke. Aside from student media, she also runs her own blog called Coffee N' Curls. This summer she is interning with the Pennsylvania Innocence Project and in the future she hopes to take her writing abroad and to pursue investigative reporting. In her spare time she enjoys running, watching the Food Network and reading. Second place: Emily Bennett — Point Park University
Emily Bennett is a senior journalism major and photography minor at Point Park University. She is Editor-in-Chief of the Point Park Globe. Additionally, she works as a music intern for the Pittsburgh City Paper and is on staff as a freelance for TribLive.com. She enjoys porch swings and prefers music you can dance to. Third place: Dominic Campbell -- University of Pittsburgh
Dominic Campbell is a sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh and staff writer at The Pitt News. |
2018 interview subject: Aileen Owens, South Fayette director of technology & innovation
As director of technology and innovation, Aileen Owens focuses on how to embed computational thinking and the engineering and design problem-solving process into the K-12 curriculum, and simultaneously into connected learning initiatives, to empower our students to be the innovators of tomorrow.
She has won awards and given several presentations about her approach to teaching.
Owens spoke to students for the contest on Feb. 23, 2018, at the Point Park Center for Media Innovation.
She has won awards and given several presentations about her approach to teaching.
Owens spoke to students for the contest on Feb. 23, 2018, at the Point Park Center for Media Innovation.
2017 winners:
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First place: Stephen Caruso — University of Pittsburgh
Stephen Caruso is a senior economics student at the University of Pittsburgh. He has worked at its student newspaper, The Pitt News, since his freshmen year. It was at The Pitt News where he learned most everything he knows about journalism. Stephen has also interned at Pittsburgh City Paper, and is currently an intern at PublicSource. His career goal is to be a foreign correspondent. Second place: Emily Brindley — University of Pittsburgh
Emily Brindley is senior majoring in non-fiction writing and psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. She has served as staff writer, assistant neweditor and culture editor at The Pitt News, according to her LinkedIn profile. Brindley worked as an intern last summer at Pittsburgh Quarterly. Third place: Mark Marino — Penn State
Mark Marino is a senior at Penn State, graduating in May 2017 with a bachelor's degree in journalism and Spanish and a minor in international communications. Mark was a reporter and editor for Penn State’s student-run newspaper the Daily Collegian for three years. He wrote about the arts, local business, crime and opinions. Mark interned with 91.3 WYEP radio station for two summers and will begin interning as a business reporter at the China Daily in Beijing this summer. Mark is fluent in Spanish and studied abroad in Granada, Spain, during his junior year. He now volunteers by helping non-native English speakers learn English and American culture. |
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Last updated: 3/17/19
