Winter Haven native Meredith Jean Morton is the recipient of the Florida Press Club’s scholarship at the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications.
Morton, 21, is a magazine journalism major with a minor in science history. She is a Florida Bright Futures scholar and said she plans to use the $1,000 award to pay for books and school supplies.
She currently writes sports features for the University of Florida Alumni Association’s publications, UF TODAY and FLORIDA.She also writes news releases for the university’s Office of News and Public Affairs.
This summer, Morton will intern at the university’s FAS CItrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred. There, she will write research-related magazine articles about the citrus industry.
“I have an interest in science and would possibly like to be a science writer for a newspaper or magazine,” Morton said.
It was during her time as editor of her high school newspaper that Morton decided to pursue a career in journalism.
“I experienced such joy through discovering the news of my high school by interviewing my peers, the faculty and the staff, writing about it and then seeing my stories being read by the school,” Morton wrote in her scholarship application. “I knew immediately that I was called to be a journalist.”
The Florida Press Club will honor Morton at its annual Excellence in Journalism Competition banquet, Oct. 15, in Orlando.