The Bridget O'Brien Scholarship Foundation

The Bridget O’Brien Foundation announced today the deadlines for the 2013 scholarship.

UCLA students who are active staff members or contributors to the Daily Bruin, including those graduating in Spring 2013, may apply now through the deadline of Friday, February 1, 2013. Individuals and teams are encouraged to submit proposals for original student reporting projects.

E-mail questions to info@rememberingbridget.com or contact Amy Emmert, the student media advisor.

Finalists will be asked to interview in-person at UCLA, tentatively scheduled for Saturday, February 9.

Apply now: http://www.rememberingbridget.com/apply

Last week Sean Greene and Morgan Glier, 2011 Bridget O’Brien Scholarship recipients, published their series, “Heart of the Problem.”  Sean and Morgan spent 12 days in Vietnam following the student group Medical, Educational Missions and Outreach, which is comprised of UCLA and UC Irvine students to carry out educational and medical missions.

You can find their three-part series online.

1. Part one - Out of the City
2. Part two - Clinging to Hope
3. Part three - Beyond the Bandage Solution

Their trip was the fifth journalism project funded by the Foundation. Previous recipients have traveled to Cameroon (examining the struggles and developments of the basketball community in Yaounde, Cameroon, where two former UCLA basketball stars were raised), Peru (to explore UCLA’s archaeological research in the country), China (to investigate the influence of UCLA merchandise on garment factories and retail stores) and Thailand (to assess the effects of UCLA researchers’ work on HIV/AIDS in the country’s red light districts). The foundation has sent teams to four countries on three continents since 2008.

As is the case for any nonprofit organization, our resources are as great as the generosity of our supporters. We invite you to consider submitting an additional (or first time) donation to the foundation so that we can continue promoting and funding this unique form of student journalism far into the future.

Thank you for your support.

Congratulations to Matt Stevens and Maya Sugarman, 2010 Bridget O’Brien Scholarship recipients, for being named national finalists in the 2011 Associated Collegiate Press Multimedia Story of the Year.  Fellow Daily Bruin staffed Millie Tran was nominated with Matt and Maya for her contributions to the online publication website.

Matt was also named a finalist for the 2011 ACP Report of the Year and Maya was selected as a finalist in several photo categories.

Winners will be announced for the first time at the 90th Annual ACP/CMA National College Media Convention in Orlando on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011.  Best of luck to the 2010 scholarship recipients.

The “Over and Back” series chronicled the hopes and struggles of young basketball players in Cameroon, where two former UCLA star players began their basketball careers.  Matt and Maya spent 31 days in Cameroon reporting on the story last summer.  Earlier this year the series won first-place in the Society of Professional Journalists national award for in-depth reporting.

The Cameroon trip was the fourth journalism project funded by the Bridget O’Brien Scholarship Foundation. Previous recipients have traveled to Peru (to explore UCLA’s archaeological research in the country), China (to investigate the influence of UCLA merchandise on garment factories and retail stores) and Thailand (to assess the effects of UCLA researchers’ work on HIV/AIDS in the country’s red light districts). Another team of student journalists traveled to Vietnam this summer and will publish their work this fall.

None of this would be possible without the generous support of our donors. As always, we appreciate your donations to the foundation.

Congratulations to 2010 Bridget O’Brien Scholarship recipients Matt Stevens and Maya Sugarman, winners this week of a prestigious a national award for their eye-opening investigation into the recruitment of college basketball players from Cameroon.

The Society of Professional Journalists bestowed Matt and Maya with the organization’s first-place national award for in-depth reporting. The “Over and Back” series chronicled the hopes and struggles of young basketball players in Cameroon, where two former UCLA star players began their basketball careers. The series also won a regional award for photography and was a national finalist for online presentation.

Matt and Maya spent 31 days in Cameroon reporting on the story last summer. The project ultimately involved the work of more than a dozen Daily Bruin staffers before it was published in October.

The Cameroon trip was the fourth journalism project funded by the Bridget O’Brien Scholarship Foundation. Previous recipients have traveled to Peru (to explore UCLA’s archaeological research in the country), China (to investigate the influence of UCLA merchandise on garment factories and retail stores) and Thailand (to assess the effects of UCLA researchers’ work on HIV/AIDS in the country’s red light districts). Another team of student journalists is being sent to Vietnam this summer.

None of this would be possible without the generous support of our donors. As always, we appreciate your donations to the foundation.

Thank you, and check back for more news to come.

A young Cameroonian basketball player enjoys a pick-up game in Yaoundé, Cameroon, at Nlongkak basketball court, one of less than 10 outdoor courts throughout the city, on the evening of July 16. (Photo by Maya Sugarman)

Matt Stevens and Maya Sugarman, this year’s recipients of the Bridget O’Brien Scholarship, have begun publishing a four-day series examining the struggles and developments of the basketball community in Yaounde, Cameroon, where two former UCLA basketball stars were raised. Read the first chapter, “Out of bounds.” »

Their trip was the fourth journalism project funded by the Foundation. Previous recipients have traveled to Peru (to explore UCLA’s archaeological research in the country), China (to investigate the influence of UCLA merchandise on garment factories and retail stores) and Thailand (to assess the effects of UCLA researchers’ work on HIV/AIDS in the country’s red light districts). The foundation has sent teams to four countries on three continents since 2008.

To support these projects, we have raised more than $40,000. Our long-term objective is to become a self-sustaining endowment. Toward that end, we have set a fundraising goal of $10,000 in 2010.

These are exciting times for a foundation that formed less than three years ago thanks to the outpouring of support from Bridget’s family, friends, and colleagues. With your assistance, we have been able to foster the very type of student journalism that Bridget practiced and found so important during her career. We are excited to continue helping Daily Bruin journalists follow in her footsteps.

As is the case for any nonprofit organization, our resources are as great as the generosity of our supporters. We invite you to consider submitting an additional (or first time) donation to the foundation so that we can continue promoting and funding this unique form of student journalism far into the future.

Thank you for your support.

Thank you to the Elena Jarvis on behalf of Ventura County Press Club for their generous donation of $2,500 to the Bridget O’Brien Scholarship Foundation.  We are extremely grateful and excited for their contribution!

Today the Bridget O’Brien Scholarship Foundation’s Selection Committee interviewed candidates for this year’s scholarship.  The committee selected Matt Stevens and Maya Sugarman as this year’s recipients.  Matt and Maya will be traveling to Yaoundé, Cameroon in August to investigate how basketball continues to shape the economy and communities of the country from which two former UCLA basketball stars hail.

Photos from the Peru Project
By KIMBERLY LAJCIK

Passion for past drives research
By WILL WEISS

November 16, 2009PUNO, PERU — Elizabeth Klarich first met Charles “Chip” Stanish, director of the UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, in 1994 when she was at her Chicago high school’s career day listening to his description of the field archaeologist’s way of life.

And she was utterly repulsed.  Read More…

Archaeology project unearths, preserves culture Researchers earn trust of locals by participating in rituals, become experts in Peruvian way of life
By WILL WEISS
November 16, 2009

Idealized Peru veils country’s problems By KIMBERLY LAJCIK
November 16, 2009

Peruvian museums house ancient relics Small exhibition rooms in Peru, Bolivia display cultural artifacts to descendants of those cultures
By WILL WEISS
November 17, 2009

Museums in Peru strengthen cultural identity With exhibits both in Lima and in rural communities, Peruvian government educates population
By KIMBERLY LAJCIK
November 17, 2009

For Peruvians, cultural qualms are secondary to survival By WILL WEISS
November 17, 2009 

PDFs of Daily Bruin pages

The AAJA posted a note on their website today about BOB recipient, Jessica Lum’s, project in Thailand.  Click here to see the post.

The Bridget O’Brien Scholarship Foundation selected its 2009 scholarship recipients today. Will Weiss and Kimberly Lajcik will travel to Peru this summer to investigate the many facets of UCLA’s archaeological research in the country.

The selection of Will and Kimberly follows the publication this past fall of scholarship-funded Daily Bruin projects on the production and sale of UCLA merchandise in China and the challenges facing UCLA researchers in the battle against HIV/AIDS in Thailand.

“Will and Kim organized what we believe will be another excellent project for the Daily Bruin,” said Kelly Rayburn, a founding member of the Bridget O’Brien Scholarship Foundation. “Our inaugural recipients did an amazing job last year, and we are exciting to carry our foundation’s mission forward with another team of outstanding student journalists this year.”

The Bridget O’Brien Scholarship Foundation was created following the tragic passing at age 26 of Daily Bruin alumna and professional photographer Bridget O’Brien, whose own international reporting on fair trade coffee farms while she was a student working at the Daily Bruin was published in USA Today and helped launch her professional career. It is the foundation’s hope to help honor Bridget’s memory by funding original student journalism projects with a global reach and local consequence.