Howard University Junior Joins AAN
Josef Sawyer is print journalism major
By AAN Staff
september 9, 2002 02:21 pm
Josef Sawyer
Josef Sawyer, a junior print journalism major and African-American Studies minor at Howard University in Washington, D.C., joins AAN as a fall intern.
His responsibilities will include writing, editing and updating the AAN newsletter and AAN Web site. He will also assist with special association projects, including the Alternative Newsweekly Awards.
”We are lucky to have the opportunity to work with a talented young journalist like Josef and introduce him to alternative newsweekly journalism,” says Lyda Phillips, AAN’s director of communications.
He is the second Howard University undergraduate to intern at AAN. Ryan Fox, also a junior and a friend of Sawyer’s, finished a summer internship in August.
Sawyer is a student member of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ). This summer he interned as a business reporter at Bloomberg News in Princeton, N.J. He also worked on the NABJ Student Newspaper Project at the organization’s 27th annual convention in Milwaukee.
Sawyer is the online editor and a reporter for The Hilltop, Howard’s bi-weekly student-run paper. His commitment to journalism started in high school where he participated as a student reporter at Howard University’s Youth Journalism Workshop. Upon the workshop’s completion, Sawyer received a Knight Scholarship, given to distinguished workshop participants to pursue a baccalaureate in journalism.
“The future is filled with opportunities, but I realize part of being successful is keeping your options realistic and in line with your interests,” Sawyer says. “Choosing a career in journalism often times means you cannot become a doctor, lawyer or politician, but it means you have an opportunity to learn and write about what doctors, lawyers, and politicians do.”
After graduation Sawyer plans to attend graduate school and earn his master’s degree in journalism while working at a publication. A long-term goal is to own a book publishing company.
“So far my undergraduate experience has been about learning what I am not interested in and making sure I am in a field that changes everyday and has boundless opportunities,” he says.
