National Association of Hispanic Journalists Board Approves U of A Student Chapter

From left: Lauren Burgess, president of the new U of A chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and Rachell Sanchez-Smith, vice president.

The National Association of Hispanic Journalists board has approved a student chapter for the U of A. 

The national board voted during its meeting on Saturday, Nov. 11, and the association’s U of A student members joined by Zoom when the decision was made. 

Chapter members invite the campus community to celebrate the launch of the NAHJ student chapter from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 14, Kimpel Hall, room 148. The event will include food and drinks.

After the vote, National Academic At Large Officer Adriana Chavira said, “I’m happy to see the continued support for students and the creation of this chapter.”

NAHJ Region 5 Director Nancy Preyor-Johnson posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, “I know your new chapter will continue to help pave the way for Latino journalists. We can’t wait to see all of your accomplishments.” 

NAHJ Secretary/treasurer Alondra Hernandez.

There are 11 student members. Lauren Burgess is president, Rachell Sanchez-Smith is vice president, Alondra Hernandez is secretary/treasurer, and U of A journalism professor Ninette Sosa will serve as an adviser. 

“The establishment of an NAHJ student chapter here at the U of A is historic and gives a bright future for journalists of the Latino community,” said Burgess. “It gives our students another opportunity to meet industry professionals and provides a connection between who they are and what they do.”

Nationally, there are about two dozen student chapters. This student chapter is the first in the state of Arkansas.

NAHJ local chapters are vital in bringing hot topics and discussions that greatly affect how we report about local communities. Now more than ever, the goal is to successfully bring transparency and fair journalism to the general public.

NAHJ is the largest organization of Latino journalists in the United States with more than 4,300 members, including working journalists, journalism students, other media-related professionals and journalism educators. Its mission is to increase the number of Latinos in the newsrooms and to work toward fair and accurate representation of Latinos in news media. 

This story also appeared in the University of Arkansas News publication.