nlgja_logo_small.gifNLGJA has selected eight undergraduate and graduate journalism students to participate in a weeklong, intensive journalism education program in Montreal, Canada, this September. NLGJA’s Student Project is held in conjunction with the 2009 National Convention & 6th Annual LGBT Media Summit, which will take place Sept. 10-13, 2009.

Within a fully integrated newsroom environment, the student participants will work with seasoned journalists to conceive, create and develop stories flowing from panel discussions and presentations at the convention and summit, and also cover larger societal issues and topics relevant to the city of Montreal and the greater LGBT community. Additionally, they will have the opportunity to build their professional networks.

“These eight student leaders are examples of the bright future of journalism, and we are pleased they will join their soon-to-be peers to learn and grow in a real-world setting,” said Michael Tune, NLGJA’s managing director. “They will gain hands-on experience with accomplished mentors in the field. They will also get to meet nationally prominent journals presenting in Montreal and build relationships that can serve them throughout their promising careers.”

The 2009 Student Project participants are:

  • Adam Griffiths of Kent State University, who has been editor in chief/art director of KSU’s Fusion magazine since January 2008. His professional newsroom experience includes Harper’s Bazaar UK, Cleveland Magazine and The Washington Post. He is majoring in visual journalism and minoring in LGBT studies.
  • Jared Grigsby, a journalism graduate student at Ball State University. This will be Jared’s second year in the National Convention Student Project. He recently completed a summer internship with the Associated Press in San Francisco.
  • Ryan McLendon, a journalism graduate student at New York University. He is a Fulbright Commission Scholarship awardee and the most recent winner of NLGJA’s Leroy F. Aarons Scholarship, which provides up to $5,000 in tuition funding to an outstanding LGBT student planning a career in journalism. His professional experience includes CNN, The Village Voice and CityBeat, an alternative weekly in Cincinnati.
  • Blair Mishleau of Columbia College Chicago, pursuing an interdisciplinary major involving Interactive Arts & Media and journalism, with a minor degree in American Sign Language. Blair interned with Tribune Interactive.
  • David Reinbold of The Pennsylvania State University, pursuing a BA in print journalism and returning to NLGJA’s Student Project for the second year. He has served as a copy editing intern with the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund (The Charleston Gazette) and the Centre Daily Times.
  • Mandi Rice, studying comparative languages and linguistics and minoring in journalism at Earlham College. Among other newsroom experience, she was a multimedia intern with The Palladium Item in Richmond, Ind. This is Mandi’s second year with NLGJA’s Student Project.
  • Anthony Williams of the University of Texas at Arlington, majoring in broadcast journalism and minoring in Spanish. He interned with The Observer (LaGrande, Ore.) and the Houston Chronicle. He was the fall 2008 president of the UT Arlington chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists.
  • Lauren Wright, a visual communications major at Berry College in Mount Berry, Ga., who is returning to the project for the second year. She has served in a variety of editorial positions the student newspaper and currently serves as a graphic designer in the school’s public relations department.