Work experience & financial aid - Where to find great scholarships

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Work experience & financial aid
Where to find great scholarships

Knight Ridder minority scholars program

Students who become Knight Ridder Minority Scholars not only receive a $40,000 scholarship, they also receive four summer internships and a full-time job after they graduate from college.

Nominated by one of the 31 local newspapers owned by Knight Ridder, scholars are selected in their senior year of high school. Even before they start college, the students work at a 12-week internship during the summer between their senior year of high school and freshman year of college. For the next three summers, the students intern for Knight Ridder and then work for the company for one year after they graduate.

“It’s building a relationship between students and the company early on at a time when students want to learn more about the newspaper business,” says Jacqui Love Marshall, vice president of human resources, diversity and development.

In addition to the internships and job opportunity, the students also meet annually at a Scholars Retreat. The retreat allows the students to meet executives of the company, interact with each other and gain additional training. A recent retreat brought the students to the conference of the Asian American Journalists Association and offered the students additional workshops on subjects such as workplace political skills, business social skills and strategic planning in the newspaper industry.

“For us it’s a great opportunity to find new talent. For students it’s a wonderful opportunity for them to get a diverse experience before graduating,” Marshall says.

The Knight Ridder Minority Scholars Program is no longer offered, but this profile still provides insight into why companies sponsor scholarships.