Ambitious journalism student makes the headlines
Lincoln High junior Mary Lind to represent state at D.C. conference, earns $1,000 scholarship
LINCOLN — Lincoln High School junior Mary Lind has been selected to represent Rhode Island at the Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Conference, held in the nation's capital in June, and to receive a $1,000 college scholarship.
The all-expenses-paid conference, which takes place at the Newseum, began in 1999 and was named for the founder of USA Today.
Lind, who intends to double-major in journalism and international relations in college, hopes that this will be a lifechanging experience in which she can meet a lot of new people.
“I hope to learn a lot about what it's like to be a journalist in a big city, because Lincoln's kind of small and we mostly just cover school stuff,” she said of her experience writing for the school paper, The Lion's Roar.
The conference, which is exclusively for high school juniors who are committed to pursuing a career in journalism, will be held from June 17-22.
Last year, participants got to visit the set of Meet the Press and ask questions of host Chuck Todd. They also heard from ESPN sportscaster Chris Berman, USA Today
Washington bureau chief Susan Page, former White House press secretary Mike McCurry and more.
Attendees are required to cover the conference as a journalist and produce something for their school paper or website when they return, Lind said.
“We have one student from every state and the District of Columbia, and they are the best and the brightest of journalism students across America,” Newseum senior consultant Chris Wells said in a video produced by Grace King, the 2015 representative from Florida.
One notable conference
alumnus is Brian Reed, whose podcast “S-Town” broke podcast records by garnering more than 10 million downloads in the first four days after its seven-episode release.
Lind explained that the application process involved sending in a copy of her high school transcript, SAT or ACT scores, a teacher or personnel recommendation, two personal essays and samples of her work.
For her samples, Lind submitted an article about Internet firewalls at Lincoln High School, a review of Trinity Repertory Company's production of “A Christmas Carol,” and an editorial about civil responsibility and the importance of voting.
She also mailed a copy of
all seven or eight issues of “The Lion's Roar” for which she has written or edited, complete with sticky notes atop the articles she wrote.
Lind said she has wanted to be involved in Lincoln High School's Journalism Academy ever since she found out about it, and she took the Intro to Journalism class last year, as a sophomore.
“We just learned how to write a news article, we talked about media ethics, and we produced videos and submit-
ted staff for the paper,” she said.
This year, Lind is in the Advanced Journalism class and is associate editor of The Lion's Roar. She said journalism teachers Doreen Picozzi and Lisa Cardarelli are a big part of why she go so involved in The Lion's Roar, and that she couldn't have received this distinction without their support and encouragement.
Lind most enjoys writing about politics, because “it's really interesting even though it's infuriating.” She also likes covering theater, and she takes classes at Trinity Rep.
Along with working on the school newspaper, Lind is in the history club, plays flute in the band and was the comedy director for this year's variety show.
She said of the conference, “I'm just really excited and honored to have this opportunity.”