Cooper Jones ('00) discusses a Society of Alumni and Friends initiative to create internship scholarships for journalism students.
As an alum or friend of the JSchool you can make a significant difference in the quality of our program, which in turn improves our reputation. Giving to the JSchool can happen in a number of ways:
Scholarships: Help our students by giving support for scholarships. With the rising cost of tuition and fees, scholarships play a bigger role than ever when it comes to paying for a college education. You can target your donation for students in particular sequences, from particular geographic regions (e.g., your home town, county or state), or for a particular program (e.g., the John R. Wilhelm Foreign Correspondence Internship Program). One alum recently gave a scholarship in honor of another alum who spoke at a special event without accepting a fee, a great example of two very generous alums.
Other financial support: Provide financial support for special programs that target one of your specific areas of interest.
Society of Alumni and Friends: Join our Society of Alumni and Friends. Members of this organization work to improve the JSchool by creating on-campus programs (e.g., Senior Saturday Day) and networking opportunities.
Advice: Advise us on curriculum matters. You are in a perfect position to keep us apprised of changes in your specific industry. We'd very much like to hear suggestions you might have to help our program improve.
One-on-one with students: Speak to students one-on-one. Perhaps one of our students is interning with your company. Seek them out and give them some of your time and advice. These kinds of exchanges are invaluable to our students.
Speak to classes: Volunteer to speak to classes or one of our student organizations. You can do this in person or by tele/video conference (by phone or iChat).
