Gabriela Bhaskar
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
DAVID R. SCHWEISBERG MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
Sponsored by the Schweisberg family; presented by David’s brother, Matthew Schweisberg

Having lived in Jakarta for almost four years, Gabriela described the spectrum of complexity that embodies Indonesian life, the juxtaposition of the practical and irrational that she vividly portrayed in a stunning photo essay of the country’s mentally ill.  Primarily a photojournalist with investigative skills, she speaks Indonesian, French and Spanish.  A graduate of the University of California at Davis, she intends to return to cover the conflicts in “this wild archipelago.”


Donna Airoldi
CUNY Graduate School of Journalism
REUTERS FELLOWSHIP
Sponsored by Reuters and funded by The Correspondents Fund; presented by Mike Williams, Global Enterprise Editor, Reuters

A veteran journalist in New York City, Donna returned to graduate school to improve her business expertise and multimedia skills.  Last summer she returned to Cambodia, to work as an editor at the Phnom Penh Post.  In keeping with her focus on the intersection of commerce and human rights, she wrote her essay about the unintended consequences of wage hikes in Cambodia.  A DePaul grad, she has an OPC Foundation fellowship in the Reuters bureau in Bangkok.


Serginho Roosblad
UC-Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism
HARPER’S MAGAZINE SCHOLARSHIP in memory of I.F.STONE
Endowed by John R. MacArthur and the Pierre F. Simon Charitable Trust; presented by Rick MacArthur, publisher, Harper’s Magazine

A multimedia journalist, Serginho has already reported from a dozen African and European countries.  A native of the Netherlands and the son of Dutch Caribbean immigrants, he intends to return to Uganda to film a documentary on climate change. In his winning essay, he wrote about the legacy of Uganda’s brutal past. With degrees from both Dutch and South African universities, he speaks Dutch, English and Sranangtongo with a basic understanding of Kiswahili and German.


Cate Malek
University of Texas at Austin
IRENE CORBALLY KUHN SCHOLARSHIP
Endowed by the Scripps Howard Foundation; presented by Pamela Howard of the Pamela Howard Family Foundation

A graduate of the University of Colorado-Boulder, Cate spent five years in the Middle East compiling and co-editing a book of oral histories titled Palestine Speaks, about human rights violations in the occupied territories for McSweeney Publishing.  In her essay, she wrote about a Syrian family in Texas trying to recreate a chocolate manufacturing business.  The Levant Arabic speaker has an OPC Foundation fellowship with the GroundTruth Project to cover Muslim-Christian relations.


Tik Root
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
H.L. STEVENSON FELLOWSHIP
Funded by the Gamsin family and sponsored by family and friends; presented by 2016 HL Stevenson winner, Gabrielle Paluch

Tik’s unique path to journalism began with a two-week stint in a Damascus prison as a student and has already taken him to Spain, Turkey, Rwanda, Russia and Brazil.  He spent 15 months freelancing in Yemen where he encountered the Dhahab family split by deadly loyalties to al-Qaida, the subject of his essay.  A graduate of Middlebury College, he is proficient in two dialects of Arabic, Egyptian and Yemini.  Tik has an OPC Foundation fellowship with the Associated Press in the Middle East.


Lisa Martine Jenkins
Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies
STAN SWINTON FELLOWSHIP
Endowed by the Swinton Family; presented by John Daniszewki, Editor at Large for Standards, The Associated Press

Lisa’s main interest is international food policy and its impact on health, the environment and global economy.  In her essay, she wrote how Turkey, the world’s seventh largest agricultural producer, is facing a food crisis as it tries to absorb and feed vast numbers of migrants and refugees crossing its borders.  Proficient in Spanish and French with some Italian, the UC-Berkeley graduate has an OPC Foundation fellowship with the Associated Press in Mexico City.


Sarah Dadouch
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
EMANUEL R. FREEDMAN SCHOLARSHIP
Endowed by family; presented by Alix Freedman, Manny’s daughter and Ethics Editor, Reuters

Born in Connecticut, raised in Damascus and a graduate of UC-Berkeley, Sarah intends to return to the Middle East to report on such stories as the disastrous plight of those escaping Aleppo, the subject of her winning essay.  She has previously worked as a fixer for major news organizations in Syria and Turkey, including the New York Times, Reuters and BuzzFeed.  Fluent in Arabic and proficient in Turkish, Sarah has an OPC Foundation fellowship in the Reuters bureau in Istanbul.


Uliana Pavlova
University of Missouri
THEO WILSON SCHOLARSHIP
Sponsored by donations from family and friends; presented by OPC Foundation treasurer, Steve Swanson, New York Botanical Garden

Already aware of the fate some journalists face, Uliana nevertheless left her native Russia to study journalism in the U.S.  Now a college senior, she wrote about German efforts to help Yazidi women recover from being enslaved by the Islamic State – a story she covered last spring as a semester-long intern for Politico Europe in Brussels.  Skilled in various media, she has produced both breaking news and long-form video projects.  Uliana is also fluent in Ukrainian.

Joseph Ataman
Harvard University
ROY ROWAN SCHOLARSHIP
Endowed by family, friends and admirers; presented by Roy’s son, Marc Rowan

A British Fulbright scholar who attended Cambridge University on a choir scholarship, Joseph intends to return to the Middle East to follow such stories as the thousands of unaccompanied migrant children scattered across Europe, the subject of his essay.  Having reported from Lebanon and Iraq on Syria’s civil war and fight against IS, he is fluent in French and Turkish and conversant in Russia and Levantine Arabic.  He has an OPC Foundation fellowship with the Associated Press in Istanbul.


Elizabeth Miles
Yale University
FLORA LEWIS FELLOWSHIP
Endowed by the Pierre F. Simon Charitable Trust; presented by Jackie Albert-Simon, Flora’s friend

A central theme of Elizabeth’s reporting so far has been civil conflicts and their legacies.  A native speaker in both English and Spanish and proficient in French, she wrote about a funeral she attended in Spain for a mother and son killed in 1948 by Franco’s security forces and how such events remain intensely political nearly seven decades later.  The college senior has an OPC Fellowship in the Reuters bureau in Brussels.


Katherine Sullivan
Columbia University School of International Public Affairs
S&P GLOBAL Award for Economic and Business reporting
Endowed by S&P Global; presented by John Piecuch, Head of Communications, LATAM, S&P Global

As an editor at a Rwanda newspaper during some of the three plus years she lived in Kigali, Katherine watched international journalists fly in and out and miss the most important stories.  In her time there, she witnessed how rising prosperity affected the developing country, its economy and even its diet, the subject of her essay.  A University of Scranton graduate, she is proficient in Arabic and French.  She has an OPC Foundation fellowship with Forbes Asia in Mumbai.


Charles Rollet
New York University
JERRY FLINT FELLOWSHIP FOR INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS REPORTING
Endowed by family and friends; presented by Kate McLeod, Jerry’s wife and Joe Flint, his son

At the Phnom Penh Post for two years, Charles witnessed how culture and corruption defined Cambodia’s dire business environment.  His essay was about the politics of beer distribution, how Heineken’s efforts to establish its own delivery chain led to a nation-wide Heineken shortage and permanent loss of market share. A French national, he graduated from Northwestern University.  He is fluent in Russian, Spanish and French with some Khmer. Charles has an OPC Foundation fellowship with the Wall Street Journal in Hong Kong.


Rajiv Golla
Duke University
THE WALTER & BETSY CRONKITE SCHOLARSHIP
Funded by Daimler and Supported by CBS News and friends; presented by David Rhodes, President, CBS News

A college senior, Rajiv has traveled to and reported from South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Mali.  His main focus has been the South Sudanese conflict as well as the impact of the Indian diaspora in shaping modern African commerce, a topic he intends to pursue.  His essay concerned Indian businessmen who chose to remain amid war in South Sudan. With a background in Arabic, Swahili and French, he has an OPC Foundation fellowship in the Reuters bureau in Nairobi.


Amaury Sablon
University of Florida
NATHAN S. BIENSTOCK MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
Endowed by the Richard Leibner and Carole Cooper Family Foundation; presented by Richard Leibner, Co-President, Bienstock, a UTA Company

Amaury and his family moved to the U.S. from Cuba nearly 10 years ago. Now a college junior, he self-funded a trip to Haiti to cover the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, the subject of his winning essay.  He wrote about remote areas not receiving aid.  Currently he anchors the only Spanish radio show in North Central Florida for a local NPR affiliate. His background is in radio and television news.  He has an OPC Foundation fellowship with the GroundTruth Project in Cuba.


Yi-Ling Liu
Yale University
FRITZ BEEBE FELLOWSHIP
Endowed by Anne and Larry Martz; presented by Larry Martz

Born and raised in Hong Kong, a haven of free speech situated next to an authoritarian nation, Yi-Ling is fascinated by China, its untapped stories constrained by rigid censorship. With experience in both print and film, she intends to combine rigorous reporting with innovative new forms of media. In her winning essay, she wrote about how a popular Taiwanese bookstore chain had to adapt its product mix after opening its first branch in mainland China.  Also proficient in French, the college senior has an OPC Foundation fellowship with the Associated Press in Beijing.