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The Association for Women in Sports Media is proud to introduce the 2026 class of AWSM Scholars.
Since 1990, AWSM has awarded scholarships and placed college students in paid summer internships in the sports media industry at top companies around the country.
The six young women selected this month as 2026 AWSM Scholars had to demonstrate their talent and drive through our competitive application process.
Winners receive a $1,250 scholarship and a one-year AWSM membership. A seventh scholarship will be awarded in May to complete our 2026 Scholar awards.
Scholars not placed in internships receive one-on-one guidance from AWSM mentors and additional professional development support.
These scholarships are possible thanks to our generous benefactors:
· The Associated Press Sports Editors, sponsoring the Mary Garber/APSE Scholarship
· Christine Brennan, sponsoring the Jim and Betty Brennan Scholarship
· Aaron Romero and Iliana Limón Romero sponsoring the Limón Romero Scholarship
· Jim Jenks, sponsoring the Joyce-Jenks Family Scholarship
· Tom Jolly, sponsoring the Betty Jolly Scholarship
· Jorge Rojas and Jim Jenks, sponsoring the Celeste Williams Memorial Scholarship
· Dr. Martin Doerfler and Kristin Huckshorn, sponsoring the Founders Scholarship
Our internship hosts help make this program possible. A special thanks to ESPN, a longtime host of AWSM scholars, along with these employers that will host scholars in 2026: Los Angeles Times, Major League Baseball, Fox Sports-LA and the Houston Chronicle.
Get to know the 2026 AWSM Scholars below:
Liana will graduate in May with a degree in journalism and a minor in Spanish. She has demonstrated a drive to work in sports journalism through her reporting and editing at Florida's independent student newspaper while also managing part-time and freelance positions during school at the Orlando Sentinel and the local NPR and ESPN affiliate radio stations. Liana is the winner of this year's APSE Scholarship. She will intern this summer at the Los Angeles Times.
Maddie graduates in August with a Masters in Journalism after receiving her undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas. She has worked as a sports reporter and a digital pagination and layout editor at the Kansas City Star since 2023. Maddie is the recipient of this year’s Jim and Betty Brennan scholarship. She will intern this summer at MLB.
In her senior year at Rice, Kathleen is editor-in-chief of the Rice Thresher, a campus newspaper, where she leads a staff of 50. She has interned at the Dallas Morning News, covering the Cowboys and Rangers. Kathleen is this year’s winner of the Celeste Williams scholar award. She will intern at the Houston Chronicle.
Savannah will receive her Masters in Mass Communications in May. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia. Savannah has deep content experience that includes print, video production, photography and social media, including interning for NFL Films. Savannah is the recipient of the Aaron and Iliana Limón Romero scholarship. She will intern at ESPN.
Now a junior, Elise has wide-ranging media skills that include sports reporting for The Daily Iowan, serving as the Daily Iowan TV sports director and working as a radio play-by-play announcer at Iowa events. She has handled directing and graphics on live shows. Elise is fluent in Spanish. She is the recipient of the Betty Jolly scholarship.
Anna is a junior with sports media experience that dates back to high school, when she started her career as a Sports Illustrated Kids kid reporter. Since then, Anna has covered major events for the Daily Tar Heel, hosted a podcast with high-profile athletes and served as a production assistant for the ACC network/ESPN. Anna is the recipient of the Joyce-Jenks Family scholarship. She will intern at Fox Sports-LA.
If you’d like to help support the AWSM Scholars program, please emailawsmboard@gmail.com.
