Twelve college and university students have been selected by the National Press Photographers Foundation to receive thirteen $2,000 scholarships, Dr. Martin Smith-Rodden of Ball State University announced on behalf of the NPPF board of directors. These include two NEW scholarships: the Xan Korman Scholarship and the Liane Enkelis Scholarship for Women in Photojournalism. Smith-Rodden is the NPPF scholarship chair and a board member.
- Morgan Timms, a graduate student from Ohio University, is the recipient of the Bob Baxter
- Marielle Scott, an undergraduate student from Rochester Institute of Technology, is the recipient of the Reid Blackburn
- Sophia Paffenroth, a graduate student from Northeastern University, is the recipient of the James Brown / Frank Folwell Storytelling scholarship.
- Leila Saidane, an undergraduate student from the University of Texas at Austin, is the recipient of the Rich Clarkson Founders and Sony’s Photojournalism*
- Vincent Alban, an undergraduate student from Rochester Institute of Technology, is the recipient of the Bob East
- Allie Schallert, an undergraduate student from Western Kentucky University, is the recipient of the Liane Enkelis
- Minh Connors, a graduate student from the University of Missouri, is the recipient of the Mary Lou Foy Still & Multimedia
- William Allen-DuPraw, an undergraduate student from The Corcoran School for the Arts & Design, receives the C. Thomas and Mary C. Hardin scholarship.
- Erica Dischino, an undergraduate student from Ohio University, is the recipient of the Kit King
- Pamela Smith, an undergraduate student from the University of Pittsburgh, is the recipient of the Xan Korman
- Joe Timmerman, an undergraduate student from Ohio University, is the recipient of the Jimi Lott
- Maya Bell, an undergraduate student from the University of Missouri, is the recipient of the NPPF TV scholarship for television photojournalism or multimedia students specializing in video storytelling.
* Note: Saidane is a double scholarship awardee
Thank You to Our Sponsors
The National Press Photographers Foundation appreciates our corporate sponsors who support these scholarships and scholarship winners. Sony funds a scholarship and provides cameras to first-time scholarship recipients. Saramonic also provides microphones and lights. Thinktank also provides bags to them. Finally, Robert’s Camera provides store gift cards for their expansive equipment offerings to those awardees. Winners have a complete gear kit ready to do video or stills, thanks to the generosity of our sponsors. Last, we thank all who have made and continue to make donations to NPPF, who help keep these efforts funded.
The Bob Baxter, Reid Blackburn, Bob East, Kit C. King, Xan Korman, and Jimi Lott Scholarships are endowed by donations from friends, family, and news organizations. At the same time, the Foundation funds the Mary Lou Foy Still & Multimedia Scholarship and the TV News Scholarship. The NPPA
Many of the Foundation’s scholarships are named after people who played an essential role in visual journalism or NPPA’s history. Their memories live on by supporting undergraduate and graduate students’ educational goals.
Bob East was a colorful and widely known veteran photographer for the Miami Herald who died in 1985 after more than 45 years in the profession. He was NPPA’s national secretary, and he mentored many interns.
Reid Blackburn was only 27 when he died on assignment while covering the eruption of Mt. St. Helens. His newspaper, The Columbian of Vancouver, WA, established the scholarship in his memory.
Bob Baxter was director of photography for the Suburban Publishing Co. in Union, NJ. He was a U.S. Navy veteran who served during World War II. In 1971, a swimming accident left Baxter a paraplegic. He spent the last eleven years in East Orange Veterans Hospital, where he became the hospital’s photography instructor and commentator on the in-house radio station. He died in 1982. The scholarship was established in 1979 with Baxter’s savings and contributions from his family, friends, and professional colleagues.
Jim Brown and Frank Folwell have long been active board members and officers for NPPF. James Brown is a professor and executive associate dean emeritus of the Indiana University School of Journalism. Frank Folwell is a veteran photojournalist, editor, media trainer, and consultant based in Washington, DC area.
Liane Enkelis is a veteran photographer who established a fund for women photojournalists to honor the people who made her career in photojournalism possible: Bettijune and Benedict Kruse, Harvey Weber, and Richard L. Enkelis.
Thomas Hardin is the past president of the NPPF and the National Press Photographers Association. As NPPA president in the 1980s, he fostered an annual NPPA-Nikon Documentary Sabbatical Grant. Hardin is the former director of photography at the Pulitzer-winning Courier-Journal in Louisville, Kentucky, where he worked for 30 years. He was also director of photography at The Detroit News before he retired in 1996. His book, “A Voice is Born,” documents the founding and first 40 years of NPPA. A Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame honoree, Hardin has twice been honored by NPPA with the Joseph Costa Award and the Joseph A. Sprague Award. Tom and Mary live in Louisville, Kentucky.
Kit C. King was chief photographer for The Spokesman-Review and Chronicle. A compassionate photographer who cared about the people he covered, gritty documentary photojournalism was his trademark. He died in a Snake River fishing accident in 1991.
Xan Korman was a promising 20-year-old Butler University college junior from Maryland whose passion was sports photography. Xan, a victim of gun violence, died on August 19th, 2021, in Maryland.
Jimi Lott was a Seattle Times staff photographer for more than 20 years. Known for his keen eye, compassion, and boundless energy, his work focused on the less fortunate in the Seattle community, including the homeless and those with mental illness. He died in 2005 at age 52.
The NPPF Booster Club, comprised of NPPA Life members, has provided significant funding over the years.