Detroit Students Win Big at 2022 SPJ Awards. How Does the Win Impact Them?<br/>

Every year, journalists in Metro Detroit gather in Troy, Michigan for the Society of Professional Journalists Detroit Chapter Awards. The atmosphere is filled with suspense and joy as the journalists await to hear where they placed in their respective categories and receive awards for stories they’ve worked hard to produce. Among the veterans sit young journalists and photographers who are being recognized by a professional organization for the first time.

The Detroit Writing Room and Coaching Detroit Forward are pleased to announce that our students and coaches walked away with 14 SPJ Detroit Chapter Awards for their stories and photos featured in the 2022 edition of Perspectives Magazine.

High school students from Detroit and nationwide had the opportunity to learn from journalists and photographers during summer journalism and photography camps in 2022. They found their voices as writers and shared their perspectives of the world as photographers. The virtual journalism camp produced stories on different topics, including cultural customs, activism in Southwest Detroit and how social media has impacted teens.

Sarah Hachem, a rising sophomore at Wayne State University studying computer science, received second place in the feature reporting category for her story, “It's Not Always About Doing What You Love: Lessons from My Old World Mom.” In her story, Sarah narrates how having conversations with her mother, who migrated from Lebanon, helped her cope with a social media addiction and instead prioritize productivity.

“I chose to write about what my heart was longing to express and what I hoped readers could benefit from too,” Sarah says. “I feel like not enough people acknowledge that the way we tend to live our lives these days is not very healthy.”

She adds it “felt so amazing” to be recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists. “I felt so proud of myself and the changes that I made in my life that led me toward finding the confidence to express my faults and my successes,” she says. “It was so kind of SPJ to support a unique piece of journalism like mine, one which I wrote with so much vulnerability.”

Coaching Detroit Forward 2022 students Alyamamh Rahimee, Christin Fluellen and Anna Sanchez hold up Perspectives Magazine at the SPJ Detroit Awards ceremony in Troy, Michigan on May 15, 2022. Photo by Stephanie Steinberg

Alyamamh Rahimee, a 2023 graduate of Western International High School and incoming psychology major at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, also took home an award in the category of education reporting. Winning second place, her article discussed how the cultural and traditional values of Arab and Latino communities could present obstacles for students seeking a collegiate education.

Alyamamh Rahimee won second place for education reporting.

“I chose this topic specifically because it’s very apparent in my own community and other communities,” she says. “In addition, no one seems to talk about it, and usually it is taken as the norm for women to just stay home, listen to their parents or be a caregiver.”

At the award ceremony, Alyamamh invited her three sisters as guests. “It felt inspiring and allowed me to share a very special moment of my life with (my sisters) who helped me reach this point,” she says. “I knew at that moment that people heard me and change was knocking on my doors.”

Writing Coach Bill Vlasic taught news reporting during the journalism camp and says students should be very proud of their achievements in the SPJ Awards.

“There's no question, it gives competence for their future, either in journalism or whatever field they choose to study,” says Vlasic, who previously served as The New York Times Detroit bureau chief. “The students learned so much in the two-week period that their growth is kind of hard to measure. It was fantastic to see them learn the basics of the craft and turn it into such a great finished product.”

Angela Martinez, a 2023 graduate of Cass Technical High School and incoming journalism major at Wayne State University, walked away with first place in the Community/Local News Reporting category for her story on the Southwest Detroit-based nonprofit Congress of Communities. Her win at the SPJ Awards and overall experience in journalism camp influenced her future plans as a journalist.

“I do feel more confident in myself and my writing, and as I go to college, I will not let my doubts miss an opportunity to be a part of something I’d really like to do,” she says. “Taking authority of my article made (my journalism camp experience) even better because it truly was a hands-on learning experience. Having these experiences influenced my future plans because I was not sure of what part of journalism I liked best, but I now know that it’s community and civil justice.”

Thanks to the generous support from the Fisher Foundation, Dow Jones News Fund, SPJ Detroit, Kapnick Insurance Group and individual donors, Detroit high school students were awarded full scholarships to participate in the 2022 camps.

Journalism camp alum Christin Fluellen and Coaching Detroit Forward executive director Stephanie Steinberg. Christin won a college scholarship from the Dow Jones News Fund due to her participation with the journalism camp. Photo courtesy SPJ Detroit.

“We couldn’t offer these experiences without the support of our grant partners and individual donors who believe in our mission to coach the next generation of writers and photographers,” says Stephanie Steinberg, Coaching Detroit Forward executive director and The Detroit Writing Room founder.

As of summer 2023, over 130 high school students have participated in the summer camps. Many are now studying English, communications, journalism, photography, film and more at universities across the country. “We continue to stay in touch with our students,” Steinberg says, “and have already seen how our summer experiences have kickstarted their professional careers.”