Meet City College’s 2022 Emerging Journalist Fellows
Four Journalism Department students were selected for the California Humanities fellowship initiative to complete in-depth reporting projects
SAN FRANCISCO — City College of San Francisco is excited to announce the four recipients of the 2022 California Humanities Emerging Journalist Fellowship who will represent the college along with journalism students from nine other community college campuses.
This year’s fellows were chosen from dozens of Journalism Department students pursuing degrees and certificates. Each of these talented journalists will receive a $2,500 stipend, support from California Humanities, and guidance from faculty adviser Alex Mullaney to produce longform articles centered on the environment and climate change.
While this is the fourth year of the fellowship initiative, it’s the second year City College of San Francisco has been a participant. It’s designed to give community college students time and resources not available to them.
“Giving community college journalism students time to pursue important stories, invaluable experience, and an edge in the job market and university applicant pool is remarkable,” Mullaney said.
Over the Spring semester, the students met their peers from across the state and then worked collaboratively at their respective campus under a faculty adviser to produce their reporting projects.
“It helps to instill greater confidence in our students and to strengthen their passion for journalism,” Journalism Department Chair Juan Gonzales said. “The fellowship is a defining statement that ‘Journalism Matters.’”
The college community supports the students in their endeavor.
“We are very proud of our City College students and the four recipients of the 2022 California Humanities Emerging Journalist Fellowship are testimony to the talented individuals we have in our journalism program,” Chancellor David Martin said.
Here are this year’s fellows:
Casey Michie
Casey Michie is a journalist, musician, and audio engineer who holds a certificate in advanced recording techniques from the Recording Workshop in Chillicothe, Ohio, and a bachelor’s degree in English and creative writing from San Diego State University. Michie is passionate about covering local politics and culture. “The City College of San Francisco Journalism Department and the California Humanities Emerging Journalist Fellowship have been integral stepping stones on my path to gaining the necessary skills to cover the important stories of our region,” Michie said.
Daphne Young
Daphne Young is currently the education reporter for the San Francisco Bay View National Black Newspaper, parent, and former para educator with San Francisco Unified School District. Daphne is committed to covering education, especially in the Bayview-Hunters Point community. “This fellowship gives me the opportunity to continue to cover an underserved community,” Young said.
Liz Lopez
Liz Lopez studies journalism and cinema at City College of San Francisco where she won awards in both fields, including first place for one of her feature stories at the Journalism Association of Community Colleges. She is inspired by those who uplift their communities and she’s driven to document events that mobilize and create a sense of belonging. “I look forward to honing my investigative journalism skills as I research and write during the course of the semester,” Lopez said.
Garrett Leahy
Garrett Leahy holds a degree in political science from the University of San Francisco. He began his career as a freelance reporter in March 2020, publishing more than 100 articles for San Francisco news outlets covering issues where people are sidelined or discriminated against, such as homelessness, unionization, and gig workers. “While I have covered San Francisco daily news before as a freelancer, partnering with California Humanities and City College in this fellowship will allow me to pursue a long-form investigative story about climate change and the environment,” Leahy said.
The fellows held a webinar with a panel of experts on May 20 called Environmental Justice in San Francisco’s Neighborhoods. Find the recording on Youtube.
About City College of San Francisco
City College of San Francisco is the region’s premiere public, two-year community college. It’s one of the first in the nation to offer free tuition, providing San Franciscans with the opportunity to access a quality college education and workforce training that leads to university transfer and good jobs. Since its founding in 1935, City College has evolved into a multicultural, multi-campus community college that is one of the largest in the country. The college offers more than 250 degrees and certificates, and features an award-winning athletics program. For more information about City College of San Francisco, visit www.ccsf.edu.
About CCSF Journalism
The City College of San Francisco Journalism Department’s mission is to provide students with the opportunity to study the field and the various skills that go into a career in the journalism field. The department has two award-winning publications, The Guardsman newspaper and Etc. magazine, and our students consistently earn awards at every level of competition. Our faculty are professionals with real-world experience as journalists, editors, and researchers who bring their expertise to the classroom. Learn more about our student-run publications, degrees, and certificates at ccsf.edu/journalism.