SAJA announced the winners of its 2006 journalism scholarships. They are Sumit Dayal and Rubina Madan in the graduate student category; Sonia Moghe in the college category; and Manisha Priyadarshan in the high school category.
These annual monetary awards recognize the reporting abilities and commitment of emerging journalists. Students from across the United States, Canada and South Asia applied for the awards. The judging was conducted by SAJA professional members. The recipients will receive awards from SAJA for $1,500 (graduate school), $1,000 (college), and $1,000 (high school) to fund their education.
Dayal, a student at the International Center of Photography in New York City, plans to work on a photo project about war zones after graduating this year. "More than anything else, the SAJA scholarship is a recognition of my work. As an aspiring photojournalist, this means a lot to me," he said.
Madan, who plans to enter Columbia University's School of Journalism this fall, has been an education reporter at the Gwinnett Daily Post in Lawrenceville, Ga. She is a 2005 graduate of Emory University.
"As the cost of higher education continues to rise, and prospects for young journalists look bleak, it is important to have the support of SAJA and other organizations to help minority journalists achieve their goals," Madan said. "Our newsrooms need to increase their diversity to match the changing American population. Otherwise they run the risk of isolating themselves from their readers."
Moghe, the college category winner, is a senior at Texas A&M University. "I can hardly express the depth of my gratitude to SAJA and its members," she said. "Since I was a freshman, I've been reading messages on the SAJA e-mail lists and grew wide-eyed at the amount of involvement South Asians had in the media. SAJA has always
inspired me to persevere to achieve my dream."
Priyadarshan, a graduate of Methacton High School in Norrisville, Pa., will enter Temple University this fall.
"The scholarship from SAJA will relieve a financial burden by helping me to pay for my education without any anxiety," she said. "More importantly, though, it will provide me with the encouragement to venture into the field of journalism as a representative of the South Asian community. I feel honored that SAJA has found me worthy of this scholarship."
All four recipients will be recognized at SAJA's Awards Dinner in New York City on Saturday, July 15, 2006
ABOUT SAJA GROUP, INC. & SAJA
SAJA, the South Asian Journalists Association, was founded in March 1994 as a networking group for journalists of South Asian origin in New York City. It has grown into a national group of more than 1,000 journalists working for leading publications, broadcast networks and online outlets in various cities in the US and Canada.
SAJA works closely with SAJA Group, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization, in offering a variety of activities and resources.
Please direct all questions about the SAJA Awards to Sandeep Junnarkar, awards chair: saja [at] deepnews [dot] org. Please contact vikasbajaj [at] gmail [dot] com, convention chair and business reporter for The New York Times for information about the convention.