One in a Dozen!

As I went to accept my scholarship for the UVU Review, I realized that I had to scholarships that were awarded to me. I called the scholarship office to make sure the additional one was mine. The second one was titled, Salt Lake Tribune Scholarship. I was confused because I did not apply or submit my information to the Salt Lake Tribune.

I asked my editor and chief, and I also asked one of our main coordinators for the paper. I then called the scholarship office and they said, "Yup, that money is yours," I was overwhelmed because I stress and worry about money all the time! I told myself that if I did not get a scholarship this fall that I could not go back to school this semester...I was so relieved. I asked how I got the scholarship and I was told it was from the committee of college humanities.

I started crying, I cried for about ten minutes--it was so rewarding to feel like my hard work is starting to pay off! I looked into the Salt Lake Tribune scholarship, they typically give the scholarship to the one student at each university. The fact that I was picked out of all the students here at UVU gave me utter shock. The student who received this award last year was a senior student and our prior editor and chief for the review, Andrea Whatcott (recently married, now Andrea Noordhoff). She now works for Deseret News.

I then called my journalism teacher, Scott Carrier and asked him if he knew anything about it. He made me laugh, he was so nonchalant about it. He asked me if I got it, I told him yes and started crying. I said, "Thank you so much." I could barely get the words out. He responded, you earned it. Just hearing that response from him made my world. I really look up to him, I consider him my mentor. He told me he was asked for a list and he put me down as number one out of the students here on campus.

I have learned that hard work does pay off, and it is also very important to build relationships with your professors or those that you look up to. I was told that now I have received this scholarship that I must write a thank you letter (of course I will!). I've enclosed the letter which I wrote to the donor of my scholarship.

Dear Donor, 

When I realized that I was chosen to receive the Salt Lake Tribune Scholarship, I was both humbled and 

grateful that someone selected me to receive this award. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your 

generosity. 

  

I am the youngest of four children and  have spent most of my life living in Wichita, Kansas. I moved  to 

Utah two years ago in hopes of attending Utah Valley University. I then worked at a law firm and saved my money 

for one year so I could get in state tuition and afford to pay the next two semesters of my education. Thanks to 

the donation that I have received from you and others, I will have the opportunity to attend UVU for two more 

semesters. If it were not for this generosity, I would have had to return to back to working full time and saving 

money instead of continuing my educational pursuits. 

I was able to intern my senior year in high school with a local ABC affiliate news station for over five 

hundred hours. This internship blossomed into several opportunities which included working for a sports radio 

station and with multiple radio stations at Clear Channel Communications. On my eighteenth birthday, I was able to 

work for the same news station I interned for as a floor director for several months. 

After my first year of college, I decided to move to Utah. I then learned that it was a lot harder to find a job 

in the media market. When I started attending UVU, my teacher, Scott Carrier struck the match and inspired me to 

pick up my pen and paper and to start writing stories for the UVU Review and to try print media. I enjoyed writing 

various stories for the paper, which included controversial issues such as animal research, occupy wall street, social 

media etiquette, and students dating their professors. I then created a newsblog which I later turned into a website 

Newsinyourbackyard.com. I also used my experience from the radio industry to help the UVU Review launch their 

first podcast, The Wolverine Minute. 

In the spring, I applied for a position in the UVU Review with the news editor position in mind. When I 

received the phone call that I got the position, I was overjoyed. At that time I also worked with Deseret Connect and 

was honored to have several articles published in the weekend edition of Deseret News. 

The reason I enjoy journalism is because the work I do is a service to those in the community. I grow and 

learn from each story I write and make new friends every step of the way. My ultimate goal is to have a media outlet 

that covers state-wide positive local news in a talk show format. In the meantime, I plan to finish my education at 

UVU and would enjoy to find a position exercising any of the media skills that I have learned. I am doing my best to 

be a well-rounded journalist, and I am trying to get experience in all realms of media. 

I appreciate your trust and investment that you have put into my education. It is nice to feel like my hard 

work is starting to pay off. This scholarship is a milestone in my career, and I assure you that I will continue to 

improve and strengthen my skills to become the journalist that I can be. 

Sincerely, 

Emily N. Stephenson