Student journalists attending James Madison University and the University of Virginia have been named 2024 summer newsroom fellows by the Virginia SPJ,SDX Educational Foundation.
Grant Johnson, a graduating senior at James Madison, was selected as the 2024 George A. Bowles Jr. Fellow, named for the late Virginia broadcast journalist. It is the top award in the foundation’s annual summer fellowship competition. Johnson, who is from Centreville, Virginia, will be an intern this summer at The Washington Post.
The foundation also awarded a fellowship to Merrill Hart, a junior at the University of Virginia. Hart, from Marietta, Georgia, is majoring in English and cognitive science and minoring in Spanish. She will intern this summer at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Johnson and Hart were selected in a competition that drew applications from college journalists across Virginia. Both fellows will receive a $1,500 cash stipend to support a summer newsroom internship. The funds can be used for any internship-related travel, lodging, supplies and other costs.
Grant Johnson
Johnson is a double major in media arts & design (journalism concentration) and writing, rhetoric & technical communication. He also will graduate with minors in sport communication and Honors interdisciplinary studies.
A member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Phi Beta Kappa honor society, Johnson served in 2023-24 as editor-in-chief of The Breeze, the student newspaper at James Madison University, where he joined the staff as a freshman.
He has won awards from the Virginia Press Association, the Associated Collegiate Press and other groups for his coverage of issues such as student-athlete mental health.
During the summers of 2020, 2021 and 2022, Johnson interned at the Fairfax County Times. Last summer, as part of the Dow Jones News Fund summer internship program, he worked at the multiplatform editing desk at The Washington Post.
For the coming summer, Johnson again was selected for the Dow Jones program and will return as a copy editor at The Post.
In his application for a newsroom fellowship from the Virginia SPJ,SDX Educational Foundation, Johnson wrote about his experience at The Washington Post during summer 2023:
I internalized a sign in the Post’s newsroom that stuck with me as I returned to JMU for my senior year: ‘Obsess about your audience.’ For me as editor-in-chief, that meant producing every paper with the attention to detail I developed as a copy editor, even if it meant resending pages to the printer at midnight just because the space between lines in a headline were two clicks too far apart.
The audience deserves perfection because they are taking time out of their day to trust the news we put in front of them. It may not be as thrilling as a source sending a crazy tip to my inbox, but there is nothing I love more than perfecting the little details for readers.
Merrill Hart
Hart, who expects to graduate in May 2025, has been a reporter and editor at The Cavalier Daily, U.Va.’s student newspaper, since September 2021. She has written stories about campus shootings and the aftermath of the “Unite the Right” rally. Hart also is features director at the university’s edition of V-Magazine.
An Echols Scholar focusing on the intersection of science with the humanities, Hart received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to research issues involving kidney disease and presented her findings at a symposium at the University of Wisconsin. Hart also serves as a translational science intern with the Division of Pediatric Nephrology at UVA Health.
In her fellowship application, Hart discussed an investigative story she wrote about housing violations at properties owned by an official with U.Va.’s School of Architecture. She wrote:
This project cemented my passion for journalism as a tool for connecting with community members and holding those in power accountable.
Even as a college writer, I have the power to uncover stories that need to be told. Through my upcoming news internship at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and, hopefully, a career in journalism, I plan to continue elevating other’s experiences and perspectives on issues that matter.
About the foundation and its fellowship program
The foundation was formed in 1971 by the Virginia Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Since then, it has awarded more than $100,000 in scholarships and fellowships to more than 90 students attending Virginia colleges and universities. Here is a list of recipients, including bios and photos, over the past half-century.
The foundation will begin taking applications for the summer 2025 fellowships in December. Applicants must be sophomores, juniors or seniors enrolled at an accredited Virginia college or university. Applicants need not be journalism majors but must demonstrate intent to pursue a journalism career in print, broadcast or online media.
The foundation seeks donations to support the fellowship program. Donations are tax-deductible, and 100 percent of donations go toward fellowships. Checks (payable to Va. SPJ,SDX Educational Foundation) may be mailed to:
Brian Eckert
VSSEF Treasurer and Executive Director
2701 River Oaks Dr.
Midlothian, VA 23113
SPJVA Today 
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