SPJ Madison awards three journalism students Pat Schneider Scholarship

MADISON -- The Madison Society of Professional Journalists named UW-Madison students Lauryn Azu and Enjoyiana Nururdin and Madison Area Technical College student Anica Graney as the recipients of the Pat Schneider Scholarship, a one-time fund in honor of the late Cap Times reporter known for her dogged social justice reporting.

Schneider, who passed away in September at age 65 after battling cancer, reported for the Cap Times for 25 years with a stern eye on holding powerful people and institutions accountable and amplifying the voices of the downtrodden.

Students submitted applications this spring to a panel of one SPJ Madison judge and two Cap Times judges, who scored applications based on commitment to social justice journalism. Azu, Graney and Nururdin each demonstrated ability and dedication to reporting the issues that often go unheard or ignored while showing potential to grow more as they further their studies in journalism.

Azu is a rising junior at UW-Madison pursuing a bachelor’s degree in journalism as well as Latin American, Caribbean and Iberian Studies. She is a writer and managing editor for Bell Magazine.

Nururdin is a rising senior at UW-Madison majoring in journalism. Her resume includes extensive work with Simpson Street Free Press as well as articles published in The Cap Times, The Black Voice and Madison Magazine.

Graney is a rising sophomore at MATC and managing editor of The Clarion, the award-winning campus newspaper. She plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree at UW-Madison.

SPJ Madison and The Cap Times are proud to award each of these students a scholarship of $1,200 this summer. SPJ Madison would like to thank The Cap Times for its contribution of $2,000 for the scholarship. Additional funding came from SPJ Madison and its supporters at the 2019 Holiday Party and Raffle.