NLP Annual Report FY23 - Report - Page 12
Our 2023
NEWS LITERACY
CHANGE
-MAKERS
Each June, NLP honors the recipients of its
News Literacy Change-Maker awards, which
recognize an educator, a journalist and a
student who have done outstanding work to
help establish a more news-literate future.
The honorees received their awards at a ceremony
in Washington, D.C., on June 8. Abby Phillip,
CNN senior political correspondent, gave the
keynote. For more about the awards and honorees
and to watch a recording of Phillip’s talk, visit
Celebrating News Literacy Change-Makers.
GWEN IFILL
STUDENT OF THE YEAR
Ana Sesma
Ana Sesma, a senior at Mill Creek High School
in Gwinnett County, Georgia, is the 2023 Gwen
I昀椀ll Student of the Year. “Ana has a grasp of
the world beyond our high school and the
‘bubble’ of her peers,” said her teacher Erin
Wilder, who nominated Sesma for the award.
Sesma’s work in class changed how she
engages with information and media. “I have
responsibility, especially to those around me,
or that are closer to me, to be able to correct
bias or the wrong sources that they have,
and make sure people are a little more newsliterate than they originally were,” she said.
Read more about Sesma and
watch her story here.
About the award
The Gwen I昀椀ll Student of the Year Award honors
the trailblazing journalist — and longtime NLP
supporter and board member — who died in
2016. It is presented to female students of
color who represent the values I昀椀ll brought to
journalism. A highly respected, award-winning
journalist, I昀椀ll was the 昀椀rst Black woman to
host a national political talk show on television
as moderator of Washington Week, and she
was a member (with Judy Woodruff) of the
昀椀rst female co-anchor team of a national
news broadcast, on PBS NewsHour.
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Annual Report FY23