2023 Scholars

City College of New York Publishing Certificate Program Fellows 2023

Jenifer Nuñez is a senior at The City College of New York CUNY. She is currently completing a Bachelor of Arts in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. She joined CCNY’s Publishing Certificate Program to learn more about the publishing world and how her favorite books are made. In the near future, Jenifer hopes to become a children’s book editor and help diversify the world of books and literature for younger generations.

Born in Puerto Rico, Elaine Vasquez moved to New York when she was 12-years-old and began reading books in English to become fluent in the language. Soon, reading books became an obsession. After graduating from Purchase College SUNY with a Bachelor's in Creative Writing and an Associate's in Screenwriting, finding an internship or entry-level job seemed nearly impossible. Then she found hope at City College’s Publishing Certificate Program. Now, having finished the program, she is looking forward to a career in publishing and hopes to help make books that represent different cultures and backgrounds in a variety of genres.

Columbia Publishing Course Recipient 2023

Maria Martinez Castro calls Stockton, California, her hometown, but she was born and spent most of her childhood in Guanajuato, Mexico. She graduated from the University of California at Davis in June 2023 with an English degree and minors in professional writing and community development. She has been a news and media relations intern in the UC Davis strategic communications department, and during her senior year she wrote for the California Aggie’s features desk, focusing on uplifting underrepresented and underserved communities. Currently, she is attending the Columbia Publishing Course, where she hopes to learn about all aspects of the book and magazine publishing industry. Maria believes in the written word’s power to inspire and create positive social change.

Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism 2023

Maria Monica Fernandez is a bilingual multimedia journalist from Cúcuta, Colombia. Since she can remember, looking for information has shaped her path in life. She has a bachelor's degree in Law. She took multimedia journalism classes at Montclair State University, where she found her passion for producing informative visual stories.

Currently, Maria Monica is studying for an M.A. in Bilingual Journalism at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, where she is the vice president of the NAHJ student chapter and the recipient of the Univision Scholarship. Maria Monica has worked on fact-checking information in Spanish during the U.S. midterms of 2022 and has covered stories about the fights for labor and housing rights in NYC. She wants her work to deliver stories that strengthen communities facing inequity and hardship.

Zakiyyah Woods is a photojournalist, street/documentary photographer, and FAA certified drone pilot from the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY. As a young child she realized early on that the news coming out of Bed-Stuy in the mass media during the 80s and 90s did not fully reflect what she saw in her community. There was joy, love, success, family units, traditions, history, milestones, etc. but the world didn’t know that. A graduate of Benedict College, an HBCU in Columbia, SC, Zakiyyah spent her undergraduate years as a staff writer and photographer for the student newspaper with a goal to always tell stories of communities authentically. Zakiyyah remains dedicated to the promise she made to herself while presently studying engagement journalism at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.   

Fashion Institute of Technology Film and Media Program Scholarship Recipient 2023

Jessika Nguyen is a rising Film and Media senior at the Fashion Institute of Technology who was born and raised in Germany. Growing up with a passion for stories, she intends to improve as a writer and filmmaker. She aspires to be able to tell authentic and relatable stories in the future where people like her are represented in the media. Being an international student, Jessika hopes to find her place in the big city and is excited to start by becoming a part of the Women’s Media Group.

Fordham University Scholarship Recipient 2023

Laura Arroyo is a senior at Fordham University, working towards a degree in English and history. After graduation in 2024, Laura hopes to enter the field of education, and demonstrate the power of the written world to tell histories that aren't always told. When she’s not in school, she is studying French and Arabic, and working as a homeschool tutor for a fourth grader. Laura dreams of being a published author and educator, and hopes to find an agent for her first novel!

Girls Write Now Recipient 2023

Beth G is an Eritrean student attending NYU Gallatin, studying Suffering (Anthropologically, Philosophically, and through Art History). Beth is originally from Eritrea, and has lived in Sudan, Uganda, and the United States. Beth currently resides in NYC. Beth has maintained an interest in the literary arts since high school and has been on The Moth, an Anaphora Arts Writing Fellow (2022), and a mentee for Girls Write Now (2021). Beth has also worked at the MET and at Creative Time, aiding with curatorial and programming tasks. Currently, Beth is seeking out positions, internships or permanent, in editorial and publishing departments.

New York University Summer Publishing Institute Scholarship Recipients 2023

Molly Berrey graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University in May 2021 with a double B.A. in Film Studies and English, plus a Creative Writing concentration. As an undergraduate, she was an editor of The OWL, the Ohio Wesleyan Literary Journal, where she coordinated a team of 12 students and reviewed upwards of 170 submissions in a variety of formats, from poetry and short stories, to essays and photographs. Molly has interned at The Rights Factory and DAW Publishing as part of the New York Arts Program. Her narrative writing, which highlighted her unique perspective as an Asian and an adoptee, earned her the prestigious T’iannan Memorial Scholarship.

Tara Fischer will graduate from the University of Alabama in May 2023 with a B.A. in Communications and Information Sciences. She worked as an opinions columnist for the student-run newspaper The Crimson Write. As a summer intern, Tara worked as the social media manager for Secant Publishing, a regional book publisher in Salisbury, Maryland. She also produced exclusive content, conducting interviews with local authors for blog and website posts. Recently, Tara worked at Langton’s International Agency as an editorial intern, evaluating up to eight manuscripts a week and providing in-depth reader’s reports. She also runs a literary blog, where she writes recommendations and reviews of popular books.

Pace University M.S. in Publishing Recipient 2023

Kayleigh Woltal is an MS in Publishing student at Pace University from Long Island, NY. After graduating with a BA in New Media & Digital Design and a minor in English from Fordham University, Kayleigh began writing and designing for grain of salt magazine. There, she found her passion for using design to promote the work of marginalized identities and knew that she wanted to take her design skills to the publishing industry as a career. At Pace, Kayleigh is a graduate assistant at the Pace University Press where she designs book interiors and jackets. She is an avid reader, writer, and designer and hopes to someday land in the publishing industry as a designer for a women’s fiction or romance imprint. She specifically hopes to work on titles with queer, disabled, and otherwise underrepresented identities.

Presidents Emeritae Scholarship Award Recipients 2023

Sherisma A. Liburd, is a senior attending Medgar Evers College. She is an aspiring writer, trying to find her place in the ever-bustling city that is New York. She loves to write everything from the news articles to songwriting. She is a Teaching Artist at the prestige organization at the Harlem Children’s Zone, teaching young scholars creative writing as well as music! Sherisma is so grateful for the opportunity to be part of WMG, and hope that it only ascends from here on out!

Cassidy Ridgeway a senior at Medgar Evers College CUNY. She is currently on her way to obtaining a bachelor’s degree in English with a concentration in creative writing. Professionally, she intends to become a social media manager. Until the pandemic, she previously worked at an aesthetics office, initially as the receptionist and later becoming the social media manager running all social media pages connected to the company. Additionally, in her free time, Cassidy enjoys writing various stories because writing allows her to find freedom through artistic expression and helps to build communications skills. 

2022 Scholars

City College Publishing Program Fellowship Recipient 2022

Samantha Correa joined CCNY’s Publishing Program to gain a deeper understanding of the process behind a book’s success. City College’s Publishing Certificate Program taught Samantha about the publishing industry and the fascinating work that is involved in turning a manuscript into a book. She had the opportunity to learn from successful publishing professionals, mostly female, working in various areas of the book business. However, Samantha noticed that female protagonists of color were a rarity in YA fiction. It wasn’t until the diverse book movement penetrated the publishing industry that she finally read novels with protagonists that looked like her. She wants to pursue a career promoting literature that is ripe with diversity and representation because it may serve as a guidepost for connection, expression, learning, and entertainment as diverse populations find their people and place in the world. Samantha is extremely grateful to the Women’s Media Group for their support in helping her achieve her career goals. 

Columbia Publishing Course Recipient 2022

A Texan native, Arianna Siddiqui graduated from Trinity University, where she studied political science and philosophy. While at Trinity, Arianna advocated for marginalized students through her work with the Diversity and Inclusion Office. She also spent time abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark, and London, England, where she studied the different political systems of Europe. Prior to the Columbia Publishing Course, Arianna completed an internship with Lucinda Literary, working under literary agent and CEO Lucinda Halpern. Arianna hopes to use her experiences and background to uplift marginalized writers as a future literary agent.

Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism Recipients 2022

Aaliyah Fisher is a first generation college student at Florida Atlantic University majoring in Multimedia Journalism. Writing has always been a passion of hers for as long as she can remember. That coupled with her keen interest in storytelling fueled her love for journalism. She's committed to producing powerful stories that often get lost in the chaos of the world. She has written articles published in newspapers and media sites (The Paradigm Press; Medium), produced segments for a local podcast (South Florida Journal), as well as trying her hand at producing her own podcast, which centers around the damaging effects of misinformation and disinformation on a society.

Myriam Vidal Valero is a bilingual science journalist from Mexico City. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Science, The Open Notebook, Slate, Cancer World, Medscape, Muy Interesante, ¿Cómo ves? among others.  In 2019 she received the Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism. She is also a recipient of the European School of Oncology Cancer Journalism award 2019-2020, the COMECYT Award for journalism on Scientific and Technological Innovation 2019 and other awards. Currently, she's is coordinating the Mentorship Program for early career journalists of the Mexican Network of Science Journalists (Red MPC). She's currently based in New York City, where she's studying an M.A. in Journalism at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, CUNY.

Imani Sebri is an alum of The University of Texas at Austin, where she studied International Relations, African Studies, and Arabic. She is currently a MA Candidate at The Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. Imani is a passionate storyteller, aspiring photojournalist, and all-around media enthusiast. She enjoys writing stories that sit at the intersection of race, identity, and culture. Through all of her work, she hopes to create pathways for marginalized identities to share their stories authentically, with intentionality and care. She is looking forward to strengthening her writing and multimedia skills while pursuing her graduate degree. Through the WMG Scholars program, she hopes to continue subverting the status quo for a more equitable, innovative media landscape. 

Fashion Institute of Technology Film and Media Program Scholarship Recipient 2022

Muskaan Vatvani is a junior Film and Media major at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. Born and raised in Indonesia, she is an international student who intends to pursue a career in the film industry. She has been interested in film since she was a young girl and hopes to use her education to create films that provide a voice for underrepresented communities. Furthermore, as a third culture kid, she recognizes the struggle of understanding one’s own identity and aspires to tell authentic and significant stories to help others better understand their identities. 

Fordham University Scholarship Recipient 2022

Sera Allen is an Undergraduate at Fordham University working towards a Bachelor of Arts in English. She also holds minors in Creative Writing and American Studies. A member of Fordham's graduating class of  2023, she hopes to enter the publishing or editing fields upon graduation. At school, she is an editor of Bricolage and contributes writing to The Ampersand (a student-run publications). An avid writer of poetry and prose, she vows to continue to write throughout her life no matter what. It is important for Sera to uplift the voices of marginalized or stigmatized individuals through her writing, and eventually her vocation one day as a publisher. Sera is honored to be the first Fordham recipient of the Women's Media Group Scholarship and cannot wait for all the exciting opportunities that lie ahead!

Girls Write Now Scholarship Recipient 2022

Daleelah Saleh is a senior Posse Scholar and Film & Media major at Middlebury College. A writer, photographer, and filmmaker, she approaches multimedia storytelling as an act of love and resistance. Daleelah is currently a multimedia editor for The Middlebury Campus, a college writing tutor, and a public speaking coach. Looking towards the future, she hopes to continue helping other people build confidence in their storytelling abilities. Beyond her school life, Daleelah was recently an editorial intern for the anthology “Nonwhite and Woman,” published by Woodhall Press. She was thrilled to have the opportunity to elevate the stories of other women of color, in addition to having her own work published. As a proud Egyptian, Muslim, and New Yorker, she ultimately hopes to use her pen, camera, and voice to uplift her communities and make her mom and grandma proud.

New York University Summer Publishing Institute Scholarship Recipients 2022

Jessica Gutowitz attended the NYU Summer Publishing Institute in 2022 and is now an Assistant Publisher at Springer Nature. She is a writer, researcher, and editor from Long Island, NY. She graduated from Binghamton University in 2020 with a bachelor's degree in English. During her university career, she worked for Pipe Dream, BU's only student-run newspaper, as an Opinions columnist, advice columnist, copy editor, and Opinions section editor. She has also worked as a writing and editing assistant for The Human Condition, a mental health startup.

 

Kaila Mundell-Hill is a 2020 magna cum laude graduate of Saint Joseph’s University with a BA in English, and minors in sociology and communications. She worked as a tutor for heruniversity’s writing center for three years. She worked for her university’s newspaper, The Hawk, as a copy editor and eventual copy chief. Her work on The Hawk led her to travel to Johannesburg, South Africa in 2019 to live and work as astudent-reporter, writing stories that centered black women and girls. Kaila hopes to break into the publishing industry, where she hopes to work with marginalized authors helping to ensure their voices remain prominent in their stories.

Pace University M.S. in Publishing Recipient 2022

Yaritza Santana is a first-generation college student at Pace University pursuing her master’s in Publishing. She is interested in a career in legal publishing or production and operations. For the last fifteen years, she has been working at a community college where she enjoys helping students accomplish their academic goals. She has a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Purchase in Legal Studies and has graduated from Rockland Community College with associate degrees in Business Administration, Paralegal Studies, and Liberal Arts.

2021 Scholars

Columbia Scholarship Recipient 2021

Asia Harden grew up in the Mississippi Delta and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Mississippi, where she studied integrated marketing communications. Her childhood was spent immersed in stories and while little has changed since then, her college study abroad experience in Granada, Spain, made her realize that adventure is not exclusive to fictional characters. Recently, she has fed her creativity as editor-in-chief of The Ole Miss yearbook and a bookseller at Square Books, Jr. Her honors thesis regarding black female readers' relationship to young adult literature increased her desire to work as an editor in children’s publishing.

Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism Recipient 2021

Hafeezat Bishi is an alum of Temple University, where she majored in Communication and Social Influence and obtained a certificate in Spanish. She is currently an MA candidate at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism studying Engagement Journalism. Hafeezat hopes to use her education to advocate for marginalized groups and bring about change to how these groups are treated and represented. Her goal is to work on media efforts with and within groups that dedicate their work towards helping the unheard. Because everyone deserves to have their basic rights recognized, realized, and their authentic stories told.

CUNY Fellowship Recipients 2021

Stefanie Betancor is a DACA recipient who currently studies History and publishing at City College of New York. Last summer she became the first intern for the Intellectual Property department at Princeton University Press. She works as a Visitor Service Representative at the American Museum of Natural History, where she takes care of customers and deals with the uniforms for the department. Currently she interns at Dunow, Carlson & Lerner Literary Agency where she hopes to gain a better grasp on what it takes to be a literary agent. Stefanie hopes to promote diversity in writing and publishing.  

Naomi Spratley started her academic journey by earning a two-year degree from Kingsborough Community College in Journalism & Print Media. She then continued her education at City College, then changed her major and earned a Bachelor of Arts majoring in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. She also has obtained a certificate from the Publishing Certificate Program at City, which provided her with a substantial overview of the publishing industry. She interned for Laura Dail Literary Agency in the Spring of 2020. Then a year later, for McKinnon Literary Spring of 2021. Through the Association of American Literary Agents, Agents of Change Program, She will be interning for McIntosh & Otis.. She hopes to continue working in publishing in marketing.

CUNY Journalism Scholarship Recipient 2021

Candace Pedraza was born and raised in the Bronx and is a graduate of the State University of New York at Geneseo with plans to attend the Craig Newmark School of Journalism in the Fall of 2021. She is interested in pursuing a career in storytelling and research while studying audio journalism as well as health & science journalism. She has published articles in Livingston County on mental health as a public health crisis, and was the News & Public Affairs Director for her college's local radio station WGSU. She hopes to hone her skills in radio while developing new skills in writing and investigative journalism. 

Pace University M.S. in Publishing Recipient 2021

Sasha Charlemagne is a recent Howard University School of Communications graduate pursuing her master’s at Pace University. She hopes to build an impactful career in media and has held internship positions at HarperCollins Publishers, Hachette Book Group, Council on Foreign Relations and Bully Pulpit Interactive before joining the digital strategy team at SKDK. This upcoming semester she will begin work as a Junior Copywriter at APCO.

Fashion Institute of Technology Film and Media Program Scholarship Recipient 2021

Tianna Greene is a junior studying Film and Media at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Her interests lie in screenwriting, film production, and editing all of which she’s spent years teaching herself and learning through classes held by the program. She hopes to use this opportunity to build connections with the women of this organization and use her skills to tell important stories.

NYU Scholarship Recipients 2021

Erin Clements is a 2021 graduate of the Summer Publishing Institute at NYU and a 2020 first-generation summa cum laude graduate from Ohio Christian University with a BA in English. She currently works as a Junior Editor at Brink Literacy Project's F(r)iction publishing imprint and as an Assistant Publicist for Darcie Rowan PR. Erin is also a founding member and Editorial Team Lead of Publishers Pending, a collective of publishing hopefuls working together to make publishing industry content accessible to everyone. Previously, she interned at LEO PR and worked as the Senior Community Manager for author John Green's charity book club, Life's Library. Erin hopes to secure a career in publishing, where she intends to work in editorial or publicity, and hopes to prioritize authors from underrepresented backgrounds. 

Mel Bautista is a senior at NYU studying English. She has worked for her university's publication, Washington Square News for three years and is currently the Business Manager. She has interned at W. W. Norton as a College Sales intern where she realized her appreciation for higher education publishing. While she enjoys sales, Mel is looking to branch into marketing or publicity in the book publishing industry. She is interested in any genre from children's literature to personal essays. Most of all, Mel is excited to continue learning and connecting with other book lovers and publishing professionals. 

Past WMG Scholars 

Mumtahinah Ahmed graduated from The City College of New York in 2018 with a degree in Communications. She has interned at publishing houses and literary agencies but then she decided that she wanted to make an impact on children's lives. Mumtahinah worked in The New York City Department of Education as a Communications and Operations Associate where she did teacher takeovers on @TeachNYC social media accounts, managed teaching opportunities on the ITeachNYC website and connected with teacher candidates to principals. She is now getting her master's degree in Education from John Hopkins University and will teach second grade in the fall. Mumtahinah is very excited to reconnect with her past mentors and fellows!

Destany Atkinson is a 2018 graduate of the Columbia Publishing Course and a graduate of the University of Cincinnati with a baccalaureate honors degree in English, Destany aims to utilize her editorial and writing experiences to become part of the publishing field and secure opportunities in writing, editing, and publicity. She is currently the Lead Children's Bookseller at McNally Jackson.

Wyleesha Bradley graduated from The City College of New York with a Bachelor’s degree in english with a creative writing concentration. She has experience working at Penguin Random House and Bloomsbury. 

Megan Caceres graduated from Baruch college with a dual bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Romance Languages and went on to graduate school at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, where she specialized in broadcast journalism and international reporting. As a Latina, Megan hopes to one day merge the divide between the Spanish speaking news networks and English-speaking news networks. She was born and raised in White Plains, New York, where she resides with her chocolate standard poodle named Teddy.  

Angie Campusano is a graduate of the Columbia Publishing Course. She graduated from the SUNY University at Buffalo with a bachelor’s degree in Communication. She was born in the Dominican Republic and was raised in the Bronx, NY. Angie has spent the last couple of years working as a Paralegal for Stephen Einstein and Associates P.C. Angie loves books and writing, which is why she chose a career in the publishing industry.

Denise Conejo graduated from Hunter College with a Bachelor’s degree in english language and literature/letters. She went on to complete the Publishing Certificate Program at the City College of New York. She has experience working at Tantor Media, New York University, and Angelella Editorial.