College Scholarship Recipients
Coaching Detroit Forward is thrilled to award college scholarships to Detroit students who have participated in our journalism and photography camps and are now pursuing a college degree. These scholarships are made possible thanks to the support of generous donors. Help support future college scholarships by donating to the Geraldine Madison Trailblazer Fund for Women in Journalism. All donations are tax deductible. Check out our inaugural class of scholarship recipients below!
2025 Scholarship Recipients
Kendall DeLaine
College: Michigan State University
High School: Cass Tech High School
CDF Graduate: 2023 Beginner Photography Camp and 2024 Advanced Photography Camp
Who would have thought that a simple text from my mother about applying for the Coaching Detroit Forward Photography Summer Program would change the trajectory of my life forever. In the summer of 2023, as I prepared to begin my senior year of high school, I thought I had it all figured out, until I was accepted into the program. That summer, I learned the fundamentals of photography and discovered my love for capturing street and candid scenes, which has now become my niche.
By Summer of 2024, I returned to the Coaching Detroit Forward Advanced Photography Program, where I sharpened my skills and gained hands-on experience through exciting photography jobs. I had the pleasure of photographing events at the University of Michigan, learned Adobe Lightroom and experimented with studio photography. For the program’s Perspectives Magazine, I chose a nightscape project, drawn to how the lights from buildings illuminate the city after dark. My photo earned first place in the Feature Photography category at the 2025 Society of Professional Journalists Awards ceremony.
The Coaching Detroit Forward program nurtured my passion for photography and has shown me how it can complement my career in health care, providing a creative outlet while helping me develop communication skills, attention to detail and professionalism. As a nursing student planning to become a nurse practitioner, I will continue to incorporate photography into my life and career.
Jecholiah Marriott
College: North Carolina A&T State University
High School: Cass Tech High School
CDF Graduate: 2020 Journalism and Photography Camps and 2024 Summer Intern
Each opportunity I’ve received has built upon the foundation developed during my time with CDF, and for that transformative summer of 2020, I remain profoundly grateful. More importantly, these experiences have directly influenced my career aspirations. My exposure to photography taught me how to capture attention visually, while journalism showed me the power of intentional storytelling. My internship demonstrated how digital platforms can create community and engagement when used thoughtfully. Together, these lessons sparked my desire to pursue a career in creative marketing, a field where strategy meets creativity, and where meaningful narratives can connect brands to people. I aspire to build campaigns that are not only visually compelling but also purposeful.
Eryn Williams
College: TBD
High School: Detroit School of Arts
CDF Graduate: 2025 Journalism and Photography Camps
The programs showed me all the different avenues that can be taken in journalism and photography. Journalism allowed me to grow as a writer by learning to communicate clearly and adjust my style to the audience. Photography camp I really enjoyed because I have a passion for capturing life through artistic and aesthetic images. I never knew that there was such a thing as photojournalism. Ever since I heard about it, I realized I could combine my love for storytelling with my passion for photography, and give me a way to capture beautiful and realistic moments.
I have decided to minor in photography to broaden my knowledge, develop specialized skills and enhance my career prospects. Photography is a creative skill that allows me to capture meaningful moments and tell stories visually.
Ma’Naida Gonzalez
College: Western Michigan University
High School: Communication & Media Arts High School
CDF Graduate: 2023 Journalism and Photography Camps
The program helped influence my career path by giving me a chance to better my skills and knowledge to help my photography business. On the other hand, the camp helped me develop great writing skills and helped me achieve the role as editor in chief at my school’s journalism department for my last two years of high school.
2023 Scholarship Recipients
Josue Mata
College: University of Michigan
High School: Cass Tech High School
CDF Graduate: 2022 Journalism Camp
Although I came into Coaching Detroit Forward’s Journalism Camp with an idea of the issues I wanted to solve and the fields that interested me, my experience with the camp empowered me to both pursue a previously daunting career path and develop a new passion.
As a Mexican-American student, the struggles of immigrants and marginalized groups in the United States have always been especially important to me, and I always figured my career path would reflect this. Regardless, my lifelong interests in reading and writing motivated me to apply to the journalism program, and my acceptance was a pleasant surprise. At first, I had doubts about whether journalism was for me. Our meetings with journalists and college professors helped me to gradually feel more comfortable and learn about the broadness of journalism. I realized that I could reconcile journalism and my own interests in marginalized communities by writing about them and spreading the word about their issues. So, this was the approach I took. I chose to write an article about the inaccessibility of legal services, and, gradually, everything fell into place. The anxiety I feared facing in an interview melted away when I realized that it’s hard to feel anxiety when discussing something you’re passionate about. My anxiety about writing a piece that is more akin to an essay than an article was alleviated through my meetings with advisors that offered constant encouragement and reinforcement.
I found that I got to not only talk and write about my interests, but learn more about them, too. As I interviewed an attorney, a teacher, and an undocumented immigrant, I realized that so many of the issues that plague our communities are not coincidental, but products of a systemic disregard for disadvantaged communities. I realized that, if I wanted to make the biggest impact possible, a career in public policy and government would be most effective. I also realized the importance of journalism, not only for those that read, but for those that write. Writing is an outlet; it allows you to inform, explore, and learn. It gives people a platform to voice their concerns and interests, and having a voice is simply empowering. It can make a position in government go from a far-away dream to a potential reality. This newfound appreciation motivated me to pursue a position in The Michigan Daily, where I now work as a primary editor.
Nadia Niha
College: University of Michigan
High School: Cass Tech High School
CDF Graduate: 2020 Journalism Camp and 2021 Photography Camp
I participated in the Journalism Camp in early high school with the purpose of exploring different career fields in order to find my passion. In the camp, I was able to truly grow as a writer and being able to publish my writing (as a high school freshman) tremendously boosted my confidence. Throughout high school, I enrolled in AP Seminar, AP Language & Composition, and AP Literature and passed all three exams; I would not have taken any of those classes if it wasn’t for the Journalism Camp. In the beginning of the camp, I had no confidence as a writer. However I received an abundance of reassurance and encouragement from everyone in the camp, especially my coach. I walked out of the camp feeling extremely affirmed with an overflow of certainty in my abilities as a writer.
Now as a freshman at the University of Michigan (U-M), I am planning on pursuing a career in the research field by majoring in public health. My experience with the Journalism Camp helped me arrive at this decision by showing me that writing applies to every field. In the research field, I will be able to combine my love for writing with science. Moreover, I feel confident that I will be able to excel in whichever field I choose and at U-M despite it being such a large and rigorous university. I did not always feel this way, but my amazing experience with the camp has taught me that I can always succeed despite my background, especially with a great support system.
Photo by Ma’Naida Gonzalez
Kendall DeLaine
College: Michigan State University
High School: Cass Tech High School
CDF Graduate: 2023 Beginner Photography Camp
This program influenced my career plans to start a future business by taking photos for people’s special events such as birthdays and portrait photos. Before joining the program, I thought taking pictures was as simple as pointing a camera at a subject and clicking. But, the lessons taught me that photography combines art, skill, and understanding people's emotions.
Our instructor is an experienced photographer who shared stories and wisdom about her work. She talked about the times she captured portrait photos of her clients or the objects around her. These stories showed me that behind every picture, there's a story waiting to be told. And as a photographer, it's my job to tell it the best way I can.
We didn't just learn about taking pictures. The program also taught us about the business side of things. This means understanding what people want and promoting our work to get more customers. It's like having a candy stand, but instead of selling candy, you're offering memories that last a lifetime.
One of the peaceful parts of the program was the photo walks. During this time, we got to practice what we learned. I remember the first time going out, feeling the summer breeze, walking around the city taking pictures of everything that caught my eye. It felt like magic how the right light and angle could make something look so much better in a photo. During the program, we also had group activities. We'd team up and take photos of food or local happenings around the city. This taught me the importance of teamwork. Sometimes, while I focused on getting the perfect shot of a dog, a teammate would capture the smile of that same dog. We learned to rely on each other.
Moreover, the program had guest speakers, photographers who had turned their passion into a business. They shared their journeys, the ups and downs, and how they kept going even when things got tough. This taught me perseverance and gave me hope that with hard work, I too could make a mark in the photography world.
In conclusion, the program wasn’t just about learning to take good pictures. It was about understanding people, working as a team, and building a business from scratch. It made me see photography as a fun hobby and a possible career where I could do what I love every day.