Cecilia’s legacy is felt at Third Coast conference

Cecilia Vaisman Award recipients
Cecilia Vaisman scholarship recipients debrief at the Third Coast conference. From left, Medill School lecturer Alex Kotlowitz, Avery Van Etten (’20), Sophia Crum (’21), Daniella Tello-Garzon (’22), Sofía Sánchez (’21), Cecilia’s husband Gary Marx, and Alyk “Ark” Kenlan (MS candidate).

What a joy to see the 2019 Cecilia Vaisman scholarship winners at the Third Coast conference in Chicago. The scholars are all students at Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University, where Cecilia taught until her death in 2015.

The scholarships provide free registration for the conference, which brings together more than 800 audio producers, journalists, artists, reporters, students, editors & sound designers each year.

The scholarships are not the only awards that honor Cecilia’s legacy. Last year, Medill and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) created the Cecilia Vaisman Award to recognize “Latinx and Hispanic audio and video journalists who work every day to bring to light the many issues that affect Latinx and Hispanic communities inside and outside the United States.” 

Antonia Cereijida, a producer for NPR’s Latino USA, was named the first winner in June of this year. Antonia was a student of Cecilia’s at Medill.

Cecilia was an award-winning journalist, a beloved teacher, and a co-founder of Homelands Productions.