Meet the 2025 OPC Foundation
Scholar Award Winners
Charles Clewis
University of Oxford
DAVID R. SCHWEISBERG MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
Sponsored by the Schweisberg Family
Charles developed a keen interest in the Middle East while earning his international affairs degree from Gettysburg College, fueled by travels across Africa and study in Tunisia. His passion for storytelling emerged during his service as a U.S. Army officer, when he honed his skills in writing and photography. In his essay, Charles detailed dire conditions in a Syrian refugee community near the Jordanian border. Now studying Arabic, he is dedicated to reporting on marginalized groups in conflict zones.
Jay Doherty
Fordham University
RICHARD PYLE SCHOLARSHIP
Endowed by Family and Friends
During a seven-month stint as sole intern at CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360°, Jay covered a cluster of breaking stories including an attempted assassination, Hurricane Helene, the U.S. election, and conflict erupting in the Middle East. He co-directed an award-winning documentary exploring the shrinking priesthood in the U.S. compared to its growth in Africa, the focus of his essay. Jay is a junior at Fordham University studying technology and media and is proficient in Spanish, French and Latin.
Isabela Fleischmann
New York University
S&P GLOBAL AWARD FOR ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS REPORTING
Endowed by S&P Global
Isabela, a Brazilian journalist fluent in Portuguese, Spanish and English, was among the first to report on the emergence of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 in South Africa in 2021, the topic of her essay. With a passion for covering Latin America's economic and business landscapes, she has contributed to Bloomberg, the Financial Times, and other outlets, and is eager to continue work in the region. She has a journalism degree from the State University of Londrina, Brazil.
Inaara Gangji
UC-Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism
EDITH LEDERER SCHOLARSHIP
Endowed by Edith Lederer and Friends
Inaara’s essay explored how economic growth and access to birth control have transformed women’s lives in the Arab world. Originally from Tanzania with Indian heritage, she has reported for Forbes Africa, the International Center for Journalists, and Al Jazeera, and interned at USA Today in Washington, DC, and Nyce Media in Ghana. Inaara holds a journalism degree from Northwestern University and is fluent in English, Swahili and French. She is committed to covering underreported stories affecting women in the Global South.
Carlos Garcia
Craig Newmark School of Journalism at CUNY
HARPER’S MAGAZINE SCHOLARSHIP in memory of I.F.STONE
Endowed by John R. MacArthur, Publisher of Harper’s, and the Pierre F. Simon Charitable Trust
Carlos wants to continue covering how U.S. migration affects the economy, a theme he explored in an episode of NPR’s The Indicator about asylum seekers in New York City. This was also the topic of his winning application for the OPC Foundation Scholarship. Carlos has worked in Ethiopia, France, and Chile, and is fluent in Spanish and French, with proficiency in Amharic and Portuguese. Carlos holds a degree in English and French from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree in French from Middlebury College.
Carl David Goette-Luciak
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
ROY ROWAN SCHOLARSHIP
Endowed by Family, Friends and Admirers
While working as a human rights researcher in Nicaragua, Carl's colleague, a journalist, was killed by police during a live broadcast. Carl wrote about the event for The Guardian, which became the focus of his essay. A dual U.S./Austrian citizen, Carl has reported across Latin America for major outlets. He holds a multidisciplinary degree and a master’s in public policy from the University of Virginia and is fluent in Spanish with proficiency in German.
Evan Gorelick
Yale University
FRITZ BEEBE FELLOWSHIP
Endowed by Anne and Larry Martz
In his essay, Evan exposed Uber’s practice of shutting drivers out of its app during low demand and talked with drivers in New York, mostly immigrants, who saw a significant drop in their wages. During his internship at Bloomberg, he focused on technology, AI, and cybersecurity and developed his interest in exploring the crossroads of society and global tech. Proficient in German and Latin, Evan served as managing editor for the Yale Daily News and freelanced for the Hartford Courant. He has an OPC Foundation with Reuters in Frankfurt.
Isaac Holmberg
University of Oxford
WALTER & BETSY CRONKITE SCHOLARHIP
Supported by CBS News, Mercedes-Benz and friends
In elementary school, Isaac moved from Hawaii to Germany, adapting to a new language and culture, which prepared him for study and travel in Ukraine, Russia, and the Caucasus. His essay examined a U.S.-Kazakhstan university partnership, illuminating the former Soviet country's complex ties with Russia. Isaac earned a degree in international relations from the University of Erfurt and is fluent in German and Russian. He plans to return to Central Asia to report on the Russian diaspora.
Hannah Frances Johansson
UC-Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism
IRENE CORBALLY KUHN SCHOLARHIP
Endowed by the Scripps Howard Foundation
Hannah, a dual U.S./EU citizen, explores water scarcity and pressures on farmland as drivers of political conflict in her work. She has reported on Punjabi farmers in California and investigated water corruption in Guatemala. Hannah’s essay examines the negative impacts of water policies on California farmers. With an environmental conservation degree from UC Berkeley and proficiency in Swedish and Spanish, Hannah wants to continue reporting on the entanglement of livelihood and environmental sustainability.
Chris Kuo
University of Limerick
SEYMOUR AND AUDREY TOPPING SCHOLARSHIP
Sponsored by donations from the Topping and Cone families and friends
Chris, a dual U.S./Irish citizen with Irish and Chinese heritage, grew up partly in Tianjin, China, which fostered his interest in religion and politics. He has since written for major outlets that include the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times. His essay examined the decline of Catholic priests in Ireland and its impact on communities. With a degree in English and political science from Duke and fluency in Chinese, Chris hopes to report on the intersection of religion and politics in Europe.
Gabriel Levin
Cornell University
RICK DAVIS-DEB AMOS SCHOLARHIP
Endowed by Deb Amos and Friends
Gabe is in his third year as editor-in-chief of the Cornell Daily Sun. Last summer, he reported on the aftermath of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a reporting intern at Haaretz, investigating military tribunals and exploitation in crowdfunding for displaced Palestinians in Gaza. For his essay, he wrote about Israelis who were arrested and shunned for refusing to serve in the war. Gabe interned for the Voice of America in Washington, D.C. and is proficient in Spanish while continuing improving his Arabic. He wants to return to the Middle East to cover the causes and consequences of violence.
Jared Mitovich
University of Pennsylvania
EMANUEL R. FREEDMAN SCHOLARSHIP
Endowed by Family
Jared wrote about the 2023 congressional hearings where lawmakers grilled the presidents of Harvard, MIT, and UPenn on Jewish student safety and free speech amid campus protests over the Israeli-Palestinian war. He has had internships with Politico, CNBC, the Philadelphia Inquirer and Yahoo Finance and is the editor-in-chief of The Daily Pennsylvanian. Proficient in Spanish, Jared plans to combine his advocacy for globally informed reporting at Penn with his passion for the Spanish-speaking world.
Rafael Escalera Montoto
Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY
JERRY FLINT FELLOWSHIP FOR INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS REPORTING
Supported by Family and Friends
In his essay, Rafael wrote about a Puerto Rican family in New York denied public housing after an eight-year wait due to a recently deceased family member. A multilingual journalist from Puerto Rico, he focuses on housing policy and its impact on Hispanic communities, a thread he pursued as intern at the Baltimore Banner. Rafael holds a history degree from Harvard and is fluent in Spanish, English, and French, with proficiency in Italian. He has an OPC Foundation fellowship with Reuters in Mexico City.
Kulsoom Rizavi
Duke University
FLORA LEWIS/JACQUELINE ALBERT-SIMON SCHOLARSHIP
Endowned by Jacqueline Albert-Simon and Pierre F. Simon Charitable Trust
Growing up in northern India, Kulsoom developed a passion for documentary work and human rights, earning an award in high school for her film on derogatory rhetoric against refugees. Her essay explored rising tensions at Shia mourning processions in India under Narendra Modi’s right-wing government. Proficient in English, Hindi, Urdu and French, she has produced documentaries on global conflicts at the International Crisis Group in Belgium, pursued photojournalism in Durham and studied in Denmark, France and Los Angeles.
Claudia Rosel
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
SALLY JACOBSEN SCHOLARSHIP
Endowed by Family and Friends
For her essay, Claudia documented record droughts in Somalia and Kenya and cultural celebrations in Mexico. A native of Spain, she holds degrees in advertising and multimedia from Universidad CEU San Pablo in Madrid, studied graphic design at Lightbox Academy, and attended the Eddie Adams Workshop. With experience working in Kenya, Somalia, Mexico, Thailand and Greece, she now reports on undocumented communities in New York. Claudia plans to cover climate conflict and human trafficking in Central America as a visual reporter.
Sofia Sorochinskaia
Northwestern University
ROB URBAN AWARD FOR REPORTING IN EASTERN AND CENTRAL EUROPE
Sponsored by Colleagues and Friends
A native Russian, Sofia witnessed the fragility of press freedom in her home country as the government shut down her employer, TV Rain, and arrested colleagues. A junior at Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism, she has reported for The Moscow Times and others. Sofia wrote about the impact of Russia’s campaign against environmental groups in her essay. She plans to report on priests fleeing Putin’s regime. Sofia is fluent in Russian, English and German. She has an OPC Foundation fellowship with Bloomberg in Dubai.
Rambo Talabong
New York University
NATHAN S. BIENSTOCK MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
Endowed by the Richard Liebner and Carole Cooper Family Foundation
During the three years she spent in Kenya, Hannah-Kathryn discovered the cross-cultural power of photojournalism. Already aware of the African diaspora in France, she traveled to Paris to photograph the clothing ateliers in the African enclave of the city’s 18th arrondissement, the subject of her essay. She also wrote about Afghan women embroiderers who lost their positions when the Taliban returned to power. A graduate of the University of Arkansas, she intends to return to Africa and document similar stories.
Luke Tyson
Yale University
REUTERS FELLOWSHIP
Sponsored by Reuters
In his essay, Luke wrote about a youth-led movement in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, fighting against stigma for better access to menstrual products. Proficient in French, Spanish, Arabic and Hindi, he covered migration, politics, drug trafficking and military conflicts during his internship at the English-language newspaper Morocco World News in Rabat. Luke also reported on security tensions in schools after a mass shooting for The Record in Wilmette outside of Chicago. He aims to focus on long-form, global feature journalism. He has an OPC Foundation fellowship with Reuters in Dubai.