NAHJ DC is pleased to announce our two Summer 2016 Charlie Ericksen Journalism Supplement winners  Issmar Ventura and Ileana Ruiz. They will receive a supplement worth $335 to be placed on a Metro SmarTrip card and pay for their NAHJ membership. The board was extremely impressed by their passion and dedication for journalism.

Issmar Ventura, intern at Voice of America

Issmar is a bilingual news broadcaster living in Northern Virginia. Ventura is a young
professional aspiring to become an international news correspondent. He migrated from his country El Salvador at the age of six and has been living with his family ever since.

Ventura is a senior at George Mason University who is majoring in Communication with a concentration in Journalism and a minor in Homeland Security. He holds outstanding news writing, reporting, and anchoring skills and is competent in camerawork and video editing. He loves to interview and do on-air broadcasting.

He holds leadership positions at Telenoticias Mason, Mason’s first Spanish newscast which he created in August 2015. There he serves as the executive producer and lead news anchor. Also, at the IV Estate, Mason’s newspaper as a staff writer, and the Society of Professional Journalists as the membership and events chair. He enjoys covering stories on immigration, politics, social issues, technology, and the environment.

He has had the opportunity to intern with BBC News, Mason Dreamers, Telemundo Washington, La Voz De America this summer, and has shadowed reporters in CNN, NBC News, Univision Washington and Noticiero Estrella TV.

Issmar strongly believes that telling a true story to the world makes our society better. That the best media is the one that is fair in our Constitutional values and tells a great story by giving those who are voiceless a voice. He wants to continue to make the Latino community grow by helping other student journalists achieve their dreams.

Ileana Ruiz, Intern at the Hispanic Heritage Foundation

Ileana is a first generation college student from Chicago, IL. She is a rising senior at Bradley University, studying Political Science and Spanish. Currently, Ileana is a content intern at the Hispanic Heritage Foundation headquarters in DC.

Ileana’s journey to become a journalist started when she participated in the Washington Semester Program at American University her Spring 2016 semester. Her concentration was journalism and new media, where the exposure to journalism intertwined with her passion for writing and Latin American politics leading Ileana to take action in pursuing a journalism career.

She was a able to create a strong network during her semester in DC to gain experience in the journalism world. Ileana wants to become a multimedia producer and bridge the media gap Latin America has. Her hopes are to be the voice for the Latino community through media.