Applications open for Trib Total Media Scholarship Program

Applications are being accepted for the Trib Total Media Scholarship Program, which includes three, inclusive scholarships ranging from writing and reporting to business and marketing.

The Trib’s Jim Borden Memorial Scholarship began in 2019 in honor of Tribune- Review managing editor Jim Borden. It’s open to students attending or planning to attend an accredited four-year college or university with a major in journalism, English writing or communications.

“The Jim Borden Scholarship is actually the longest running of all of the scholarships, and we have had three of our journalists that are full-time employees on staff that have graduated from that program to become full-time team members,” said Trib Total Media President and CEO Jennifer Bertetto. “I’m particularly proud of that because it shows that their time here, their experience here, was something that they valued, and our company was something that they wanted to be a part of going forward.”

Megan Swift, a 2020 recipient of the Jim Borden Memorial scholarship, began her full-time employment in August after graduating from Penn State University. She had applied just before the pandemic lockdown and was worried that the program would be canceled for that year. Swift said she was relieved when she got the news she would be interning with the Tribune-Review during that upcoming summer.

“I was thrilled,” Swift said. “I mean, I just thought it was the coolest thing ever, especially as someone who had just finished their freshman year.”

Quincey Reese, a 2021 recipient of the Jim Borden Memorial scholarship, was told about the scholarship by her high school journalism teacher. She applied twice for the program and was accepted during her sophomore year of college.

“The fact that a job offer was attached to the scholarship — it felt almost too good to be true,” said Reese, who began working as a full-time reporter in July after graduating from Penn State University. “I felt very fortunate to be able to stay with the same group of people that I had been getting to know the past couple summers. It felt like the place I was meant to be.”

The Scholarship for Diversity in Media, created in 2020, is open to minorities as defined by the Equal Employment Opportunity Program. Eligible applicants must be current high school seniors planning to attend an accredited four-year college or university with a major in journalism, English writing or communications.

Trib Total Media’s Business, Marketing and Technology Scholarship began in 2022 to give recipients a chance to learn more aspects of the company. The application is open to high school seniors or current college students from Western Pennsylvania with a major in business, marketing, computer science or information technology.

Scholarship recipients each will receive up to $30,000 in scholarship funds awarded in annual installments of up to $7,500. The students will be required to remain in the approved course of study through graduation and complete summer internships with Trib Total Media each year of the program.

Swift said that during her internship experiences, she shadowed reporters and learned how to approach different coverage situations. Reese added that they worked with other offices and learned how other departments operate. Upon graduation, recipients receive an offer for full-time employment.

“It was a no-brainer to come back and work full time,” Swift said. “I just had such a formative experience over the years as an intern that I knew I was going to come back, and I’ve been enjoying it ever since.”

Interested applicants can apply at tribtotalmedia.com. The deadline to apply is Feb. 14.

“When you’re graduating college, you don’t know the kind of company you might be accepting a position with and what the job will look like,” Bertetto said. “Here you get a very realistic job preview so there are no surprises.”