Jackson Free Press

Dear Mississippi Scholastic Press Association:

I am writing to enthusiastically support Adria Walker for the honor of MSPA Journalist of the Year. I have never worked with a high-school journalist who deserves such an honor more than Adria.

Adria first came to the Jackson Free Press as an intern when she was 14 and in the 9th grade at Murrah High School. In many ways, she has never left, and is now both a paid freelance writer for the JFP and our BOOM Jackson magazine, as well as my contract coordinator and planner of the Youth Media Project, which I am hoping to expand using my W.K. Kellogg Foundation fellowship.

I know Adria very well and work with her closely. She is a special person with the kind of talent, curiosity and work ethic we need in the journalism industry, and hopefully, right here in Mississippi, if we can keep her here or bring her back if she lands outside the state early in her career. I already know that I would be honored to employ her as a full-time journalist if I get the chance.

Adria believes in journalism in a way that seems to be shrinking alongside the economic strength of our industry. She knows that stories have the power to change the world for the better, and she wants to find and tell those stories. She cares about social justice and why things are the way they are, and she believes in "solutions journalism."

Since she first came to us, Adria has turned into a sophisticated, poised young woman. She has a strong voice and isn't afraid to use it. She is also already a leader.

During the last two summers, Adria has emerged as a leader among our summer intern class (which always numbers from 12 to 18 students, from about age 14 to 20s and beyond). She is a source of support and advice to interns years older than she is. Last summer, she was a leader and role model for several Girl Scouts (age 14-16) who joined the intern class, teaching them to lead discussions and plan projects among themselves.

Last fall, I enlisted her to help me research and plan the next version of our Youth Media Project, which draws teenagers from a variety of schools and backgrounds to learn to both be the media themselves and to promote media literacy about the way other media cover youth. She and I are working together to develop a toolkit and template that we hope will be replicated in other cities across the country.

She works independently and manages her own schedule, compiling a wide variety of research on related programs around the country, best practices, coverage ideas and much more. She has reached out to former interns and Girl Scouts to help evaluate their experiences in our internship program so that we can use that information to improve the experience for all of them. She accompanies me on meetings to discuss the project with Kellogg Foundation representatives. She is an integral part of YMP's future.

I've also been very impressed with Adria's "newsroom leadership" skills at Murrah. She takes the initiative to bring speakers into their journalism class (which I've done several times) and then helps fellow student network with those professionals. She is simply an accomplished professional herself already, and at 17, she hasn't even graduated from high school.

She is also a delight to be around. She's funny and loving; she's a deep thinker who questions conventional wisdom.

I've said it already: Mississippi (and United States) journalism needs more Adria Walkers. I urge you to honor her with this special distinction.

P.S. Last week, Adria Walker learned that she is the 2015 Mississippi Scholastic Press Association Journalist of the Year. We could not be prouder of her.