Internships & Scholarships
Since 1990, AWSM has placed nearly 200 female college students interested in sports media careers in paid summer internships. Each winner also receives a $1,000 scholarship, complimentary registration and lodging at AWSM’s annual conference and a complimentary one-year membership to the organization.
The application process for the 2021 AWSM Scholars class has closed. Contact awsminternship@gmail.com or awsmboard@gmail.com if you have any questions about the program.
ESPN, Orlando Sentinel, Sports Illustrated, USA Softball and USA Today Sports return as host employers for the 2021 internship/scholarship class. The Dallas Morning News rejoins AWSM as an internship host for the first time since 2002. AWSM welcomes NCAA Digital at Turner Sports and Star Tribune as first-time host employers.
Natalie Bode is a senior at the University of North Carolina studying broadcast journalism and sports communication. She is originally from Brenham, Texas, and is a four-year student member of AWSM. She is a reporter and host for the ACC Digital Network, and serves as the face of UNC Athletics through her weekly student-athlete interview show, “Tar Heel Talks." This summer, Bode will be interning with first-time employer NCAA Digital and is the recipient of the Founders Scholarship.
Lauren Cochran is a senior at Louisiana State University, where she’s studying mass communication with a minor in business administration. She previously worked as an associate producer for LSU Sports Properties and Live Events, as well as assistant sports director and web director for Tiger TV, the student-run television station. She grew up in Texas and has interned at Turner Sports and ESPN. Cochran is the Leah Siegel Memorial Scholarship winner and will intern with ESPN this summer.
Emily Leiker is a junior at the University of Missouri studying Print and Digital Journalism with a minor in English. She currently covers Missouri football for the Columbia Missourian, and is the vice president of AWSM Missouri and president of APSE at Mizzou. Originally from Washington state, Leiker spent the 2020 summer in Raleigh, North Carolina, interning with the News & Observer. Leiker will join the staff at USA Today and is the Mary Garber/APSE Scholarship recipient.
Stormi Leonard is a grad student studying multimedia journalism at Arkansas Tech University. She’s worked as a grad assistant in the athletic communications office for two years covering women’s tennis and men’s basketball. She was a reporter for the sports news show, The Roar Rundown, at Ouachita Baptist and has won awards for a sports podcast. Leonard will spend her summer interning with USA Softball in Oklahoma City as the Joyce-Jenks Family Scholarship winner.
Christina Long is a senior at the University of Missouri studying journalism with an emphasis on magazine writing. She is originally from Fayetteville, Arkansas, and has previously worked as a sports writer and editor at the Columbia Missourian and a correspondent covering Mizzou football for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. She also was one of four recipients of the Associated Press Sports Editors scholarship in 2020. She’ll be interning with first-time employer Star Tribune this summer and is the Betty Brennan Scholarship winner.
Daniela Perez is a senior at the University of Texas at Austin studying Journalism and Latin American studies. She worked at the student run newspaper, The Daily Texan, as a sports reporter for two years with coverage ranging from soccer to football. The Boca Raton, Florida, native was a former intern at The Palm Beach Post and Sports Illustrated. She will be interning three hours from home at the Orlando Sentinel. Perez is also a member of the 2021 Sports Journalism Institute class and is the recipient of the Jim Brennan Scholarship.
Augusta Stone is a senior at the University of Georgia, where she majors in journalism and political science. She has spent two years covering UGA football with the student-run Red & Black newspaper and has served as editor-in-chief and sports editor. A native of Chickamauga, Ga., Stone previously interned with Spectrum News 13 in Orlando, Florida, and The Charlotte Observer in Charlotte, North Carolina. She will spend summer 2021 interning with Sports Illustrated as AWSM’s Betty Jolly Scholarship winner.
Arianna Vedia is a senior at the University of Texas at Arlington, where she is studying journalism and broadcast communication. The Fort Worth native is the engagement editor for The Shorthorn, UTA's student newspaper, after previously serving as sports editor and managing editor. Vedia is a member of the Sports Journalist Institute's class of 2019 and has interned at the Houston Chronicle. Vedia will be interning with the Dallas Morning News this summer and is the Celeste Williams Memorial Scholarship winner.
AWSM thanks our generous donors for their continued support and the Sports Journalism Institute for their ongoing partnership. This program would not be possible without their backing. The application period opens each fall.