by Kat Anderson

August 1, 2012

The Pacific Media Workers Guild has selected ten students to receive scholarships thanks to the generosity of our retired union members who donated to the fund.  The scholarships range from $500 to $100.  Our recipients were selected based on their academic records, service to school and community, and financial needs.

Bailey Cassidy, whose father Michael Cassidy works at the San Jose Mercury News, received a $500 scholarship.  Cassidy graduated from Palo Alto High School in 2012, distinguishing herself in English, French and Journalism.  She worked on her school’s newspaper, The Campanile, and was staff writer for the school’s new entertainment magazine.  Cassidy was a teaching assistant for her sophomore English teacher, who helped her “fall in love with English and the idea of teaching.”  “I would love to inspire students in that way someday,” Cassidy wrote.  She plans to obtain a master’s degree from DePaul University’s TEACH program and become a certified high school English teacher.

Brendan Carroll, son of Guild members, Patricia Hannon and Charles Carroll, received a $500 scholarship.  He graduated from Santa Teresa High School in 2012.  He was in Jazz Band where he received awards for “Most Outstanding Performer” several years running.  Carroll was a pit orchestra musician in multiple musical productions at school, as well as in a University of Santa Clara production.  He plays the saxophone in a local jazzy-rock group called “Contra Ville.”  Carroll will pursue a music composition major at San Jose State University.  He hopes to earn a PhD in music and work as a professional musician, teacher and performer.  “This path has chosen me as much as I have chosen it,” wrote Carroll in his application.

Keelan Mullane-Fay, daughter of Bernadette Fay, San Francisco Chronicle, received a $300 scholarship.  Mullane-Fay graduated from School of the Arts in 2012. She won the school’s Excellence in Media award.  She was accepted to Hampshire College in Massachusetts, where she will be a Film major and Animal Behavior Studies minor.  Mullane-Fay would like to get a job as a National Geographic videographer.

Niels Smith, son of Derrick Dewitt Smith, San Francisco Chronicle, received a $300 scholarship. Smith recently transferred to UC Berkeley from Diablo Valley College where he was on the Honor Roll for three semesters. Smith is majoring in Japanese and Political Science.  He plans to teach English in Japan after graduating, and then work for a non-profit such as Planned Parenthood.

Brendan Hornbostel, son of Steve Hornbostel, San Francisco Chronicle, received a $200 scholarship. Hornbostel was a straight A student and De Paul Scholar at Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep high school, graduating in 2012.  He received a department award for Art History.  He will major in Anthropology at UCLA.  He would like to earn a doctoral degree in forensic anthropology.

Five student members of the Guild’s freelancers unit received $100 scholarships.  Each of these recipients participated in the inaugural summer mentorship program put on by the Guild, called Bay News Rising.  The program was designed to provide resources to college journalism students that included mentorship with media professionals, a speakers’ series, newsroom nights, and paid publication opportunities.

Jessica Worthington is a journalism and African Studies major at San Francisco State University. She would like to work as a photojournalist for a major news source documenting global issues, foreign conflicts and human rights issues.  Worthington wrote in her application that her father left her mother with four children and 72 cents.  “I have come from the depths of poverty where you learn the value of a dollar because you don’t even have one.”

Rosie Linares is a journalism major at San Francisco State University. She would like to be a photojournalist working for the AP.  “I hope to receive a Pulitzer award from my impacting photos,” Linares wrote in her application.

Mariana Barrera is a journalism major at San Francisco State University. In high school (in Salinas), she worked with students who were the children of migrant farmers – also the occupation of her father.

Augustine Wittkower is a film and journalism major at City College of San Francisco where he works at the Guardsman newspaper as an on-line editor and videographer. He wants to be a professional videographer and pursue a place in NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts for Film and Television Production.

Joe Fitzgerald is a journalism major transferring from City College, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Guardsman newspaper, to SFSU. He teaches a multi-media class at San Francisco’s School of the Arts.  He is a videographer, editor and reporter.  He loves investigative reporting.