Biz X Magazine to start journalism scholarship

 

By Sean Previl

Biz X Magazine is giving prospective journalists in high school the ability to attend St. Clair College without the need of working multiple jobs to pay for it.

The magazine announced Dec. 9 they would be working with the college in order to provide a full scholarship to a high school student interested in the journalism program.

Deborah Jones, the magazine’s publisher, said she wanted to create the scholarship to give students the chance to further their education in journalism.

“I believe in the importance of educating the students and St. Clair has the best program to do that,” said Jones. “You get the right training and then you get to be on the job as well.”

Veronique Mandal, coordinator of the journalism program, said the scholarship will help students focus on school without concern for their financial obligations.

“The students who come into the journalism program have an inordinate workload,” said Mandal. “Any time that a student has an opportunity to come to school and actually concentrate on school and not have to work two or three jobs, which puts such a strain on them and prevents them from doing the quality work they’re capable of, is just a tremendous advantage for that student.”

Biz X and St. Clair are also hosting an event called Land and Sea at the St. Clair Centre for the Arts Jan. 18 for $90 per ticket in order to help raise money for the scholarship. The tuition for a journalism student that the scholarship would pay for is estimated at around $3,500 per year.

Vice President of College and Community Relations John Fairley said Biz X and St. Clair have worked together in the past as community partners, but Fairley said this initiative by Biz X is proof of their commitment to students.

“It’s a great thing for us as a college to have our community partners normally at our events and publicizing all that we do at the college,” said Fairley. “But when they step up and go into a new realm of investing in our students, that’s really special.”

Fairley said this scholarship is just an example of how the community can contribute to the college.

“As a community college, the support we get from various aspects of the community is special and we take full advantage of that and it helps our students too,” said Fairley. “When our students are strong and good graduates and getting good marks and making careers, it’s a great reflection on our faculty and staff.”