70th Annual Gertrude Gordon Scholarship Contest
2024 winning contest participants:
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First place: Abigail Hakas — Chatham University
Hailing from the South Hills of Pittsburgh, Abigail Hakas is a senior studying communications with a concentration in journalism at Chatham University, the opinion editor of Chatham's student-run media outlet and a multimedia freelance journalist in Pittsburgh. Her byline has appeared in many regional outlets throughout southwestern Pennsylvania, including the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle, Pennsylvania Capital Star and the Pittsburgh Union Progress. Outside of her work as a journalist, she is a wrestling fanatic, an amateur graphic designer and a staunch supporter of the striking Pittsburgh Post-Gazette workers. Second place: Adrienne Cahillane — University of Pittsburgh Adrienne Cahillane is a junior at the University of Pittsburgh studying Public and Professional Writing and Political Science. She chose to study Public and Professional Writing because of the wide variety of skills taught in the major. She started with The Pitt News during her freshman year as a News Writer and is the Multimedia Editor for the 2024 - 2025 school year. Her hometown is Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania and last summer she interned within the Public Information Office at Mt. Lebanon Magazine. One fun fact about Adrienne is that she holds dual citizenship in the United States and Ireland. Third place: Ellie Schroeder — Robert Morris University Ellie Schroeder is a senior at Robert Morris University working towards her B.A. in Public Relations, a certificate in Entrepreneurship, and an M.S. in Organizational Leadership. Ellie is from Pittsburgh, PA, where she lived with 5 younger siblings, a dog, and her parents, Bryan and Katie Whittington. She is now (newly) married and lives in Cranberry Township with her husband, Trevor, and their cat, Ivy. One fun fact about Ellie is that she listens to podcasts nearly every waking hour when she is not in class or working. Her passion for communications comes from her love of writing, researching, and storytelling. She aims to use her degree to open her own business. Following her love of podcasts, specifically true crime podcasts, her business will focus on helping the families of missing persons and/or victims of violent crime. |
2024 Scholarship Speaker: Priyanka Tewari of 90.5 WESA
The guest speaker for the evening will be Priyanka Tewari, the host of Morning Edition on 90.5 WESA, Pittsburgh’s NPR News Station.
Tewari is a native of New Delhi, India. She moved to the United States with her family in the late 1990s, after living in Russia and the United Kingdom. She is a graduate of Cornell University with a master’s from Hunter College, CUNY.
She launched her media career in 2013 as host for the only English-language commercial radio network in India. She also worked as a TV news anchor for DD News, India’s national public television broadcaster.
After her return to the U.S., she helped launch a South Asian radio network in New Jersey, and is a former host for WHYY, Philadelphia's NPR member station. Priyanka is excited to explore Pittsburgh and is grateful to be able to continue her love affair with radio. It “had her at hello."
Tewari is a native of New Delhi, India. She moved to the United States with her family in the late 1990s, after living in Russia and the United Kingdom. She is a graduate of Cornell University with a master’s from Hunter College, CUNY.
She launched her media career in 2013 as host for the only English-language commercial radio network in India. She also worked as a TV news anchor for DD News, India’s national public television broadcaster.
After her return to the U.S., she helped launch a South Asian radio network in New Jersey, and is a former host for WHYY, Philadelphia's NPR member station. Priyanka is excited to explore Pittsburgh and is grateful to be able to continue her love affair with radio. It “had her at hello."
Information about the contest:
Eligibility:
- Complete the form at tinyurl.com/wpcGGform to register.
- Full-time undergraduate sophomores, juniors and seniors at local colleges of all genders.
- 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 $1,000 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.
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. The fund is maintained by the Pittsburgh Foundation. Learn more about the foundation's connection to the scholarship on its website.
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 a 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 and a stint at the Anchorage Daily News, she is now a reporter at the Alaska Public Radio Network.
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 a 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 and a stint at the Anchorage Daily News, she is now a reporter at the Alaska Public Radio Network.
The scholarship fund is maintained by the Pittsburgh Foundation, which accepts donation on its website:
Past winners and contest speakers
2022 winning contest participants:
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First place: Alexandra Ross — University of Pittsburgh
Alexandra Ross is a junior at the University of Pittsburgh, where she studies nonfiction writing, Spanish, and education. She is a staff writer for The Pitt News, the fiction editor of Collision Literary Magazine, and an editorial intern at Pittsburgh Magazine. When not in Pittsburgh for school, she lives in Berwyn, Pennsylvania with her family and her loving, lazy dog Tyson. Second place: Erin Yudt — Point Park University Erin Yudt is a sophomore journalism student minoring in psychology at Point Park University. She is currently the Student Government Association Beat Writer for Point Park's student-run newspaper, The Globe; a member of the school's student-run television station, U-View's NewsNight, which has recently been featured on KDKA; vice-president of the UNO Club; and a first-year representative for the Honors Student Organization. She is also an apprentice and editor for the Point Park News Service. Erin has won several scholarships, including the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters Scholarship this past year. She is set to intern at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette this summer. When she is not glued to her keyboard or phone, Erin enjoys watching way too much bad reality TV, photography, drinking coffee, reading, and going on walks with her friends to the Point. Third place: Punya Bhasin — University of Pittsburgh Punya Bhasin is a sophomore at The University of Pittsburgh studying bioengineering. She serves as assistant news editor at the Pitt News and enjoys writing investigative and news stories for both the college newspaper and local Pittsburgh papers. |
2022 Scholarship Speaker: Judy Masucci of Levana Bratique
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Judy Masucci is a Ph.D. scientist turned bra-fitting expert. She lives in Wexford, just north of Pittsburgh, where she operates the region's only woman-owned specialty bra boutique, Levana Bratique. Judy has been fitting women in great bras for over 14 years, both virtually and in-person. She specializes in hard-to-find sizes, carrying over 250 different sizes of bras. Often referred to as the "bra whisperer," Judy has made it her mission to change lives – one bra at a time.
In addition to running Levana Bratique, Judy also manages the Pittsburgh Chapter of I Support the Girls, a 501c3 charity whose mission is to restore dignity to women and girls experiencing homelessness. Through I Support the Girls, Judy and her team have donated over 100,000 bras, menstrual products and toiletries to families in need in western Pennsylvania. Read more about Judy in the Post-Gazette. Photo Credit: Lisa Seligman Photography |
2021 winning contest participants:
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First place: Lorynn Watt — DeSales University
Lorynn Watt is a junior English major in an accelerated Masters of Fine Arts program at DeSales University. She works heavily in creative writing, winning the DeSales University Poetry Contest and granting her a full scholarship to the university. In addition, she is editor of her school’s literary magazine, The Weal, as well as a member of the Creative Writing Honor Society on campus. Lorynn is an avid advocate for type one diabetes, testifying to Congress at 17 and receiving an honor from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for her advocacy. When Lorynn isn’t glued to her keyboard, she can be found drinking way too much coffee, watching bad reality TV, and playing with her guinea pigs, Wallace and Davis. Second place: Colleen Hammond — Duquesne University Colleen Hammond is a junior journalism and theater double major at Duquesne University. She is the current news editor and managing editor at Duquesne's student newspaper, The Duke, where she produced award-winning stories on the Dannielle Brown case. This spring she has been the news intern at the City Paper, and she recently accepted the position of Editor-in-Chief of The Duke for the coming academic year. In addition to her journalistic work, Colleen is an actor, playwright, director and stand-up comedian. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, watching documentaries, drinking tea and reading. Third place: Katia Faroun — Duquesne University Katia Faroun is a senior multiplatform journalism and Spanish major at Duquesne University. She's been an editor at The Duquesne Duke for three years and currently holds the position of features editor. She is also currently the editor for Duquesne's Off the Bluff Magazine. She loves photography and writing, and her work has appeared in The Northside Chronicle, Breathe Project, the D.U. Quark and Lexicon Journal. She's published award-winning work with The Duke, with one of her articles having received a 2021 Student Media Keystone Award in the diversity category. |
2021 contest speaker: Bethany Hallam
Allegheny County Councilperson, At-Large, Bethany Hallam is a native Pittsburgher. She graduated from North Hills High School in 2008, and from Duquesne University in 2012 with a B.A. in Public Relations and Spanish.
She has been a vocal supporter of all varieties of criminal legal reform since long before she was elected to office. During her ten-year battle with Substance Use Disorder, she had multiple run-ins with law enforcement that resulted in dozens of summary and misdemeanor convictions. She has paid tens of thousands of dollars in fines and fees, spent time on probation and in the Allegheny County Jail, and had her driver’s license suspended as a result of these convictions. Councilperson Hallam ran for office as one of the first people in the country to do so as a formerly incarcerated person in long-term recovery from Substance Use Disorder, garnering nationwide attention and bringing the conversation of criminal legal reform more into the mainstream. She is now the youngest person to have ever been elected county-wide in Allegheny County, representing over 1.2 million people in one of the largest legislative districts in the nation.
Read more about her on the Allegheny County website
She has been a vocal supporter of all varieties of criminal legal reform since long before she was elected to office. During her ten-year battle with Substance Use Disorder, she had multiple run-ins with law enforcement that resulted in dozens of summary and misdemeanor convictions. She has paid tens of thousands of dollars in fines and fees, spent time on probation and in the Allegheny County Jail, and had her driver’s license suspended as a result of these convictions. Councilperson Hallam ran for office as one of the first people in the country to do so as a formerly incarcerated person in long-term recovery from Substance Use Disorder, garnering nationwide attention and bringing the conversation of criminal legal reform more into the mainstream. She is now the youngest person to have ever been elected county-wide in Allegheny County, representing over 1.2 million people in one of the largest legislative districts in the nation.
Read more about her on the Allegheny County website
2020 winning contest participants:
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First place: Ollie Gratzinger — Duquesne University
Ollie Gratzinger is a senior journalism major at Duquesne University. They are the editor-in-chief of Duquesne's student newspaper, The Duke, and the vice president of Duquesne's chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. They have bylines in Pittsburgh Magazine and City Paper, and have produced award-winning journalistic work, including a weekly column, which received the PA News Media Foundation's first-place Keystone Award in 2019. Ollie was a recipient of a 2020 Dow Jones Fund Internship and will be working as a multiplatform editing intern at the New York Times next summer. Outside of journalism, Ollie enjoys Doctor Who, Star Trek, traveling and Earl Grey tea. Second place: Neena Hagen — University of Pittsburgh Neena Hagen is a junior Econ-Stat major at the University of Pittsburgh. As a senior staff writer for The Pitt News, Pitt’s student newspaper, she primarily reports on the University’s graduate student and faculty union campaigns. Her work has also appeared in The Philadelphia Public School Notebook, where she currently interns, and been featured on Pittsburgh’s local NPR station, where she was interviewed about her investigative series on the faculty union effort. Third place: Janine Faust -- University of Pittsburgh Janine Faust graduated in April 2020 with a degree in English writing from the University of Pittsburgh. During her time at Pitt, she served as editor-in-chief of The Pitt News and worked as an editorial intern at various Pittsburgh media outlets. She now plans to pursue a career in journalism. When she's not out reporting, she enjoys reading, biking and exploring the Pittsburgh area. |
2020 contest speaker: Leah Lizarondo
Leah Lizarondo is the CEO and co-founder of 412 Food Rescue, a social enterprise with a technology, logistics and civic engagement model that aims to fight hunger and promote sustainability by preventing perfectly good food from entering the waste stream and directly distributing to organizations that benefit those who are food insecure.
Founded in 2015, 412 Food Rescue is one of the fastest-growing food recovery organizations in the U.S. Creating the infrastructure for national retailers, 412 Food Rescue has prevented over 8 million pounds of food from going to waste via technology that mobilizes over 8,000 drivers in 5 cities – food rescue heroes – the largest volunteer food transport network. 412 Food Rescue's innovative distribution model bridges the last mile and significantly impacts access and food security as well as mitigates food waste’s impact on the environment.
The Food Rescue Hero technology platform aims to be in 100 cities by 2030.
Leah’s work at 412 Food Rescue has been featured in national media including NPR, Fast Company, FoodTank, Martha Stewart Living, Food & Wine, Bust Magazine, and Civil Eats. In 2020, the Food Rescue Hero technology platform will be named a CES Innovation Honoree. In 2019, it won the Carnegie Science Award for Information Technology, and in 2018 was recognized as Pittsburgh Tech 50's "StartUp of the Year.” Leah has won numerous awards for her work including the We Empower UN SDG challenge in 2019, a global award for women social entrepreneurs. In 2018, she was named "Pittsburgher of the Year" by Pittsburgh City Paper and in FoodTank‘s “17 Food Heroes to Inspire Us in 2017."
Leah received her graduate degree in Public Policy & Technology from Carnegie Mellon University. She serves as Entrepreneur in Residence at the Block Center for Technology & Society at Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University. She was born and raised in the Philippines and currently lives in Pittsburgh.
Founded in 2015, 412 Food Rescue is one of the fastest-growing food recovery organizations in the U.S. Creating the infrastructure for national retailers, 412 Food Rescue has prevented over 8 million pounds of food from going to waste via technology that mobilizes over 8,000 drivers in 5 cities – food rescue heroes – the largest volunteer food transport network. 412 Food Rescue's innovative distribution model bridges the last mile and significantly impacts access and food security as well as mitigates food waste’s impact on the environment.
The Food Rescue Hero technology platform aims to be in 100 cities by 2030.
Leah’s work at 412 Food Rescue has been featured in national media including NPR, Fast Company, FoodTank, Martha Stewart Living, Food & Wine, Bust Magazine, and Civil Eats. In 2020, the Food Rescue Hero technology platform will be named a CES Innovation Honoree. In 2019, it won the Carnegie Science Award for Information Technology, and in 2018 was recognized as Pittsburgh Tech 50's "StartUp of the Year.” Leah has won numerous awards for her work including the We Empower UN SDG challenge in 2019, a global award for women social entrepreneurs. In 2018, she was named "Pittsburgher of the Year" by Pittsburgh City Paper and in FoodTank‘s “17 Food Heroes to Inspire Us in 2017."
Leah received her graduate degree in Public Policy & Technology from Carnegie Mellon University. She serves as Entrepreneur in Residence at the Block Center for Technology & Society at Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University. She was born and raised in the Philippines and currently lives in Pittsburgh.
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. |
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. |
Last updated: 4/13/21
