WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Asian American Journalists Association announces a partnership with American University in Washington D.C. to host AAJA’s signature student program JCamp, a seven-day multicultural journalism training program for high school students.
AAJA will select approximately 30 diverse high school students to participate in JCamp, which is celebrating its 23rd year and due to take place July 15 to 21, 2023. More than 800 students have graduated from the program since its launch in 2001.
“We at American University are thrilled that the Asian American Journalists Association’s JCamp is coming to our campus this summer,” said Amy Eisman, director of the journalism division for the AU School of Communication. “AAJA’s programming echoes our school’s core value of inclusive excellence, while the Washington D.C. location offers unparalleled opportunities to bring more diverse voices to coverage of local, national and global news.”
Past JCamp speakers have included Kevin Merida, executive editor of the Los Angeles Times; Omar Jimenez, correspondent for CNN; Hoda Kotb, co-host of NBC’s “Today Show;” Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press;” Jill Abramson, former executive editor of The New York Times; Mina Kimes, television analyst at ESPN; and Ken Burns, award-winning filmmaker.
Arelis Hernández, Texas correspondent at The Washington Post and a 2004 JCamp graduate, will return as the program’s co-director alongside fellow alums Julia M. Chan ’03, a producer at CNN; Timmy Huynh ’05, photo editor and operations director at the Wall Street Journal; and Ben Bartenstein ’11, Middle East correspondent at Bloomberg News.
“We are thrilled to be back in the nation’s capital, forging a new partnership with our hosts at American University,” Hernández said. “Students selected to this year’s cohort will have the chance to learn from some of Washington’s best journalists in one of the city’s premier institutions. After more than two successful decades of developing young journalists, JCamp looks forward to delivering an unforgettable experience for the next generation of campers.”
Students’ expenses are fully covered thanks to generous donations from foundations including the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Dow Jones Foundation, as well as other individual and corporate sponsors.
The application for JCamp 2023 is available at https://www.aaja.org/programs-and-initiatives/jcamp. Students of all ethnic, geographic and socioeconomic backgrounds are encouraged to apply.
Media Contact:
Waliya Lari, Director of Programs & Partnerships
Email: waliyal@aaja.org
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ABOUT JCAMP
AAJA’s JCamp is a national multicultural journalism program for high school students. The six-day training camp brings together culturally diverse students from across the nation to learn from veteran journalists and leading media executives. JCamp participants will receive hands-on training and produce multiplatform news packages. To view work from 2022, visit JCamp’s Medium to read articles written by last year’s cohort. Since 2001, over 700 high school students have graduated from JCamp. Every year, AAJA receives hundreds of applications from all regions of the country. Learn more about JCamp here.
ABOUT AAJA
The Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) is a non-profit professional journalism organization dedicated to ensuring fair and accurate coverage of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities and help Asian American and Pacific Islander journalists succeed in the newsroom and the industry. AAJA, founded in 1981, has more than 1,600 members across the United States and Asia. Since its founding, AAJA has been at the forefront of change in the journalism industry.
