“I have always had a passion for the truth,” Alexis Berkey, this year’s recipient of the Future Journalism Teacher Scholarship, said.

Berkey will use this passion for truth as she embarks on a masters degree in journalism education from Kent State University. Berkey will receive $1,000 from the Journalism Education Association to help her along the way.

Berkey’s first experience with a love of research and investigation came in her high school photojournalism class.

“I fell in love with writing, interviewing and photographing our history,” she said.

This love of all aspects of reporting continued throughout high school and into her undergraduate studies, as Berkey majored in Journalism and minored in secondary education. 

Now advising at Bridgeland High School, “her finest attribute is her ability to connect with kids on a level built foundationally on mutual respect,” retired student publications adviser Ed Larsen said. “During her short time at Bridgeland she has forged a strong bond with the publication students; she has transitioned effectively into her new teaching role and is able to share her knowledge within the Bridgeland scholastic journalism classroom.”

Though her time at Bridgeland has been short, her impact on her students has been significant.

“She has made me not only a better journalist and student, but also a better person,” Berkey’s student Lucynda Robinson said. “She has shown me what I am capable of and helps me push myself to continuously keep getting better.”