From left to right: Macie Parker, Steffi Puerto, Akua Parker, Emily Tenorio, Fernando Haro and Angelo Claure. Photo: Marlena Telvick
Six first-generation college students, all from California, have been named UC Berkeley Journalism Dean’s Fellows, recipients of prestigious full-ride fellowships meant to give students the freedom to pursue careers in journalism by dramatically reducing the debt burden they carry into their professional lives.
The fellowship covers tuition and fees to first- and second-year students annually and provides mentorship, coaching, networking and other types of career development.
This year, funding from generous donors, including Steve Silberstein, the Helzel Family Fund at the East Bay Community Foundation, Angela Filo (’00) and her husband, David Filo, and a donor who prefers to remain anonymous, enabled the school to more than double the scholarship aid awarded to students. This fifth cohort of Dean’s Fellows, all part of the Class of 2027, include Angelo Claure, Fernando Haro, Akua Parker, Macie Parker, Steffi Puerto and Emily Tenorio Molina. The program is overseen and taught this year by environmental investigative reporter and Continuing Lecturer Mark Schapiro.
“We’re deeply grateful to the donors who have made these game-changing fellowships possible,” said Dean Michael D. Bolden. “The funding enables us to recruit the best and the brightest students from across the world to be trained here at Berkeley and launched into newsrooms — just when we need them the most.”
The Dean’s Fellows with Continuing Lecturer Mark Schapiro (center)
“What a great group of smart, curious, tenacious and empathetic young journalists, they’re a pleasure to work with,” Schapiro said. “Watch out: their stories will be coming in your direction.”
Fellow Angelo Claure is the son of Mexican and Bolivian immigrants who came to this country to give their children better opportunities and a better life. Claure was born and raised in Los Angeles where he attended El Camino College before transferring to UC Santa Cruz and earning his degree in Philosophy as a first-generation student. He hopes to become a journalist who works with communities and people who have been historically misrepresented — a journalist who searches for truth and untruth alike.
“I’m very grateful to be here and have this chance. College, let alone graduate programs, were never even discussed within my home or within my community,” Claure said. “Everything I do is with the backing of my parents, brothers, friends and even co-workers who influenced my direction and supported my journey. Not very many people from my background get these opportunities, so I’m thankful to have this fellowship that supports me and allows me to learn and put in the work to not let my people nor our community down.”
Fellow Fernando Haro, a bilingual Mexican-American journalist from Los Angeles and a first-generation college student, first discovered his passion for journalism at El Camino College, where he shaped the breaking news coverage for the student newspaper, The Union. He went on to become editor-in-chief of the newspaper before transferring to Cal State Long Beach, where he served as a copy editor before being hired at the Long Beach Post as a breaking news reporter.
The 28-year-old decided to pursue further education to refine his reporting skills and hopes to become a journalism professor.
“Without the Dean’s Fellowship, I wouldn’t be able to afford to attend UC Berkeley due to financial restraints,” Haro said. “I feel incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to attend such a prestigious institution and follow in the footsteps of my sister, who got her doctorate at UC Berkeley.”
Akua Parker said she had some big feelings when she found out she was a Dean’s Fellow.
“I began jumping, screaming and crying simultaneously,” she said. “I simply would not have been able to attend Berkeley Journalism if not for the [Dean’s] Fellows program and its unburdening of financial strain. This funding has allowed me to be fully present and immersed within this program. It has been the greatest gift.”
Parker completed her undergraduate degree in Gender and Women’s Studies at UC Berkeley, where she reaffirmed her desire to engage with histories and lived experiences that have been largely excluded from the archive.
While there were times when higher education felt out of reach, she said, “There were embers of pride within me, knowing how hard it was to get to this point as a first-generation student. Choosing and committing to my education – again and again and again – has made me acutely aware of the power, transformational properties and enrichment that academics bring.”
Macie Parker said college and graduate school once seemed unattainable.
“I am a first-generation college student, and it was difficult not to compare myself to my peers, but I worked hard in school and proved that I have the passion and the ability to have a career in journalism,” Parker said. “The fact that I can stand here today and say that I am a Dean’s Fellow at UC Berkeley Journalism is something I never could have imagined, and I’m honored that I have the resources to pursue my passion and to make my family proud.”
Fellow Steffi Puerto, a first-generation Mexican-American college student from East Oakland, is the eldest daughter of migrant parents from a low-income neighborhood. Her experiences, cultural upbringing and curiosity brought her to journalism, she says. Puerto is in the audio track and looking forward to creating intersectional pieces that touch on the “complexities and beauty of Latine people throughout the United States.”
She hopes to one day become a journalism professor who teaches how to connect the intersections of identity, race, gender and class within journalism reporting.
“For me, being granted the privilege to proceed with higher education while not having the financial strain is a blessing,” Puerto said. “I grew up in a neighborhood where opportunities were not granted, and the idea of doing anything aside from what I knew felt impossible. Through hard work and perseverance, I’m here to guide the light for others who’ve not been granted a seat at the table.”
Emily Tenorio Molina says the opportunity to launch her journalism career at Berkeley wouldn’t have been realized without the Dean’s Fellowship. She said that for many years, she had to focus on making ends meet before she could even consider a master’s degree.
“My journalism aspirations stem from my experiences working multiple jobs in the East Bay,” Tenorio Molina said. “I met so many great people who would share with me about their life experiences, and that led me to focus on being a community-oriented reporter. I’m thankful for the fellowship’s financial stability because I can now pursue this work.”
–Marlena Telvick
