In 2007, David Goodman, Andy’s younger brother, created a Scholarship Fund to provide financial assistance to deserving students who are interested in honest journalism and civil rights at the Columbia School of Journalism. Each year, an outstanding student is selected from the Master of Science or Master of Arts programs at the Graduate School of Journalism. To be selected, a student must demonstrate superb academic achievement, commitment to leadership in journalism and financial need. Preference is given to students from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in the newsroom.

The Andrew Goodman Scholarship Recipients

2011-2012

Lucy DerTavitian is the producer and host of KPFK 90.7 FM Pacifica Radio’s South West Asian and Northern African show.  She conducts interviews, which provide an in-depth analysis of the politics, economy, history and culture of the region.  Prior to hosting, she produced a one-hour weekly public policy program.

Lucy is a member of Women in Black, Los Angeles, an organization founded by Israeli women inside Israel to promote peace and understanding between Israel and Palestine. In addition, she is part of the speaker’s bureau for Peace Over Violence, an organization dedicated to the eradication of sexual assault and domestic violence in the Greater Los Angeles area. She has spoken to the Los Angeles City Council in an effort to raise funding for rape prevention.  In the past, she has worked on various social justice issues, including Armenian Genocide recognition and homelessness. She is on the board of The Levantine Center, an organization working to unite the peoples of the Middle East through artistic and cultural endeavors.

Lucy was born in Beirut, where she spent the first ten years of her life in the midst of the Lebanese war. She has traveled extensively throughout the Middle East, reporting and lecturing on her experiences in the region.  Lucy is a graduate of University of California Los Angeles’ Modern Middle East program and is currently attending Columbia School of Journalism’s Masters of Arts program for working journalists.

2010-2011

Raknish Wijewardene is a young journalist based in Sri Lanka. He spent a decade studying, living and working in the UK and Europe before returning to his troubled homeland to work as a journalist and editor. He graduated from the University of Bristol in 2007. Following his return to Sri Lanka, Raknish initially worked as a
feature writer and reporter at the Dailymirror, Sri Lanka's principle English language daily. Within a short space of time he would become involved in a range of
additional publications from leisure magazines to wildlife periodicals and development newsletters. In February 2008, he was asked by veteran investigative journalist Frederica Jansz to serve as associate editor of Montage a political features magazine. When in January 2009, Lasantha Wickramatunge - the editor of the country's most outspoken newspaper - was assassinated, Raknish joined the Sunday Leader in order to keep Sri Lanka's foremost investigative newspaper alive. As assistant editor, he has contributed to every aspect of the newspaper. In order to raise awareness of the extraordinary difficulties faced by the independent media in Sri Lanka, Raknish has spoken at international conferences and won regional awards. His objective in terms of attending the Columbia Journalism School is to develop his understanding of the craft of journalism. And on his return to Sri Lanka, he hopes to share the skills he acquires in a country where access to journalism training is limited.

2009-2010

Carmen Perez Is a television reporter with YNN in their Binghamton, NY bureau.  She is a native of Orlando, Florida, but is happy to call the Southern Tier her new home.  Carmen received her BA in broadcast Journalism from The Florida State University and then joined Teach For America. She taught bilingual 5th grade for two years in Houston, Texas where she combined her commitment to educational equity with her love for teaching and learning. In 2009, she left Teach America to pursue her passion - broadcast journalism.
 

Carmen currently works as a general assignment reporter and loves the wide range of stories she covers on a daily basis. Her long-range goal is to use her career as a journalist to help and educate young people. Carmen's career is dedicated not only to representing her people, but also to being a living example for her students of what a dream backed with hard work can become.  Carmen is is a graduate of Columbia's class of 2010.

2008-2009
Chana M. Doreaux holds a B.A. in Political Science from Hampton University and a Juris Doctorate from the North Carolina Central School of Law, both with honors. Chana spent her early legal career as an advocate for prisoners and as an attorney prosecuting cases on behalf of the Federal Government.

She joined News 12 from YNN Syracuse, a Time Warner Cable station, where she spent 2 years as a reporter in their Binghamton bureau. While there she was honored for her investigative reporting by the
Syracuse Press Club.

Before heading to upstate New York, Janelle worked behind the scenes at Fox 5 in Manhattan and at MSNBC. She also spent time as a freelance reporter for Brooklyn Independent Television.

Janelle earned a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, and has a bachelor's degree in English and a minor in biology from Penn State.

Sylvia A. Harvey (SAH) is an independent journalist who interweaves traditional elements of print journalism, web blogging and multimedia.

SAH is currently producing a news/feature video that explores black masculinity through the lens of basketball culture.

She holds a Bachelors of Arts in sociology from Columbia University and a Masters of Science in journalism from Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism.

SAH has served as a reporter for the New York Post, the Managing Editor for The Daily Voice, and the gentrification columnist for AOL's Bed-Stuy Patch. SAH’s articles have appeared in a number of publication and can be seen on her website where she currently blogs www.sylviaharvey.com.

In 2010, she launched UPLIFT by SAH, the creative fundraising wing of the Sylvia A. Harvey experience. SAH remains active in her community as a mentor and serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of The Andrew Goodman Foundation.