By Andy Schotz
Immediate past president, D.C. Pro chapter
The D.C. Pro chapter last gave out its Helen Thomas Scholarship a few years ago.
The scholarship, named after the longtime White House reporter and columnist, is a $500 stipend to help a local college SPJ chapter send one or more people to the national convention.
One problem we had was picking a beneficiary. Partly because of the school calendar, we had trouble finding out which students planned to attend the convention, which usually happens early in the fall semester.
The award sat dormant for a few years.
This year, the D.C. Pro chapter board revived the scholarship and added to it.
In addition to the $500 stipend, the chapter is providing a free conference registration at the early-bird rate, a $225 value.
The D.C. Pro chapter won two free conference registrations this year as part of a national competition to see which chapters could recruit or retain the most members. D.C. was one of the top three large chapters in the country.
Importantly, we have chosen a student to receive the newly revived Helen Thomas Scholarship.
Allison Brennan of Georgetown University was recommended by Region 2 Director Brian Eckert for her work on launching a new chapter.
Brennan was thrilled when she heard from us about the scholarship. She said she wasn't sure she would be able to get to this year's convention because of the cost, but the award changed that.