Ayana Stewart (right) accepts the University of Florida’s College of Journalism & Communications’ ‘Society of Professional Journalists’ award during a ceremony on April 20.
Ayana Stewart (right) accepts the University of Florida’s College of Journalism & Communications’ ‘Society of Professional Journalists’ award during a ceremony on April 20.

By Matt Wiley

It’s always been challenging to earn a living as a journalist, but one Wesley Chapel native has a bright future ahead of her. You may even have seen her byline on a recent crime story out of our area that appeared in a local daily newspaper. 

After winning (on April 20 of this year) the prestigious Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) award during her last semester at the University of Florida (UF) in Gainesville, Wesley Chapel’s own Ayana Stewart, 21, has had an internship at the Tampa Bay Times in St. Petersburg. 

The SPJ award is given to only two UF students each spring. Stewart, who also served as president of UF’s SPJ chapter for more than a year, says that she did not expect to win the award that is presented to graduating seniors with her fellow student and friend Erica Hernandez.

“(Winning the award) was not something I expected at all,” Stewart says. “My professors recognized the growth and progress I had made. It was definitely something I was humbled and very honored to receive.”

UF School of Journalism master lecturer Mike Foley says that Stewart was extremely deserving of the award.

“The award was based on her incredible record here,” Foley says.

Since graduating summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Journalism in May, Stewart has been working general assignments for the Times in downtown St. Petersburg as part of her eighth internship in the field. As part of her internship, Stewart also covered the recent New Tampa CVS robbery (see our story about this event on page 8).

“They’re keeping me busy,” Stewart says. “I’m having a lot of fun and learning a lot.”

The Times isn’t the first high-profile internship Stewart has worked, either. In fact, she spent the fall semester of 2014 working for the Scripps-Howard Foundation’s news wire in Washington, DC. During her time with the foundation, she also got to cover two events at the White House, one which was hosted by former U.S. President Bill Clinton and the second by current First Lady Michelle Obama.

“Those two experiences were the most notable that I’ve had (in journalism),” Stewart recalls. “It was really surreal. I was pinching myself. Even though I don’t think I’ll end up in DC, seeing what political reporters do every day was good for me. It’s pretty overwhelming with security. I had press credentials, but that doesn’t mean a whole lot to the White House security people. But, I wouldn’t trade the experiences I’ve had.”

Stewart says that she attributes winning the award to getting involved in journalism early in her college career, something she hadn’t really considered until completing her senior project while at Wiregrass Ranch High (located off Mansfield Blvd.). She says that she was able to shadow a religion reporter at The Tampa Tribune (where she also later worked as an intern) and found something that she both enjoyed and did well. She started an internship with the Gainesville Sun during her first semester at UF.

“I think the benefit of something short-term is that you get to learn and gain knowledge from really smart people and then move on,” she says, adding that the UF journalism program was very competitive, but it also was a valuable education opportunity.

“I met tons of great mentors and friends (in the program),” Stewart says. “They brought in professors with real-world experience, people from The Washington Post and the Times to teach us things that they learned (in the field). The program forced you to strive to be the best and to get a good job one day.”

Although she already has a ton of experience working for newspapers, Stewart says that she’s not quite sure what the future holds for her career.

“I’ve never really been a ‘climb the ladder’ person,” she explains. “I think I’ll be okay working at a paper or taking the skills I’ve learned and taking them elsewhere. I want to work for a company that appreciates quality content and good story telling.”

Stewart thinks that the journalism field is changing, but that it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

“I’m not as pessimistic as some people,” she says. “There have been layoffs and hard times, recently, but good reporting is something that society will always value. It’s changing, but it’s not dying.”

When she’s not writing, Stewart says she enjoys spending time at church and with her fiancé Vagner.

For more information, or to read some of Ayana Stewart’s work, check out AyanaStew.com.

Recommended Posts

No comment yet, add your voice below!


Add a Comment