The journalism major was selected to attend the National Association of Hispanic Journalists conference in Miami from July 18-21 and work alongside professionals covering the convention.
Diego Pineda ’19, an Elon University journalism major, is one of 12 students from across the country selected to participate in the NAHJ/Knight Foundation Student Project held in conjunction with the 2018 NAHJ International Training Conference & Career Fair. This year’s event will be held in Miami from July 18-21.
According to the NAHJ, project alumni have gone on to work in some of the top media outlets in the country.
During the project, Pineda will collaborate with students currently studying at Arizona State University, the University of Maryland, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of Texas, among other universities. The program covers the travel and lodging expenses for the student participants.
The Elon junior called it an honor to be selected, adding “words can’t describe how grateful I am for this opportunity to be recognized nationally.”
“I have always seen the importance of diversity in the newsroom at school, student organizations and internships and cannot wait to work with people that look like me and share my same interest in news,” Pineda said. “I am looking forward to this program because not only will I be able to write topics that matter to the Latinx community on the national and local scales, but I will be interacting and receiving help from mentors and professionals that can show me how they as Latinos have been able to be voices for our community in the field.”
According to Nagatha Tonkins, director of internships in the School of Communications, Pineda is the first-ever Elon student to be selected for the NAHJ student project.
“I’m very excited for Diego,” Tonkins said. “He is an amazing young man who is passionate about his craft and will be an asset to this program.”
Pineda is currently studying in the Elon in LA program and serving as an editorial intern with Young Hollywood, a leading celebrity and lifestyle network for millennials.
On campus, the Communications Fellow is an active member of Elon Student Television and Elon News Network. He was instrumental in the production of the new organization’s first-ever all-Spanish broadcast in May 2017.
About NAHJ
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) is the largest organization of Latino journalists in the United States and dedicated to the recognition and professional advancement of Hispanics in the news industry. The mission of NAHJ is to increase the number of Latinos in the newsrooms and to work toward fair and accurate representation of Latinos in news media. Established in 1984, NAHJ created a national voice and unified vision for all Hispanic journalists. NAHJ has approximately 2,200 members, including working journalists, journalism students, other media-related professionals and journalism educators.