Nigerian student wins US media scholarship fund award

By Nike Cole and Osundare Israel

A Nigerian student of Columbia Graduate School of Journalism in United States, Jennifer Ehidiamen is one of the winners of the 2016 Foreign Press Association (FPA) Scholarship Fund Award.
She emerged as the third joint winner of the award along with a co-student of her institution, Dien Luong from Vietnam.
Aleksandr Gorbachev, a Russian student of Missouri Graduate School of Journalism won the first prize, while an Italian student, Roberto Capocelli of City University of New York was the second prize winner.
A statement by the association on May 16 said a reception will be held for the winners on Thursday, May 19 at the University Club, New York City.
The students were asked to submit an OP-ED on the following topics:
“The 2016 Presidential election cycle has been largely defined by non-traditional candidates from outside the Washington mainstream.
“How important a role has the media played in the rise of these candidates in the U.S., and how much has the international coverage of these political figures shaped perceptions of the U.S. election process in your home country?”
President of the Foreign Press Association, David P. Michaels said “the quality of the submissions we received continues to demonstrate the exceptional caliber of international students at leading US graduate schools of journalism.”
“The submissions from the Awardees reflect both concern about the way the media has covered the election and an affirmation that the U.S. electoral process, and coverage of it, offered important lessons for their home countries,” Michaels stated.
Responding to the award, Ehidiamen, a graduate of Journalism from Nigeria Institute of Journalism, Lagos said emerging as one of the winners is “exciting news.”
To qualify for the award, applicants have to be in need of financial aid; be from a foreign country and has to have a record of excellence.

The application requires the submission of a commentary on a subject matter decided upon by the award committee.

The Scholarship Fund Awards are made possible through the generous financial support of major corporations that include UPS, Bloomberg, Daimler and Bayer.
Established in 1918, the Foreign Press Association is a non-governmental, not-for-profit organization representing international journalists in the U.S. The association provides orientation and networking opportunities including news making and educational events that join journalists with political and business leaders in U.S and abroad.