By Corinne Arel '24
Sophia Gardner, a senior journalism and political science double major, will graduate on May 13. A few weeks later, she will catch a flight from Boston Logan International Airport to Washington D.C. on May 31 to attend the prestigious POLITICO Journalism Institute (PJI). Gardner was one out of 15 students nationwide selected for the intensive training program, which is designed to advance newsroom diversity.
Gardner, who is originally from Plymouth, MA, will spend 10 days attending the program and will receive hands-on training through interactive workshops, sessions with industry leaders and mentor pairings. It will be her first time visiting the United States Capitol, and since POLITICO will cover housing and transportation costs, it will be an all-expenses-paid trip.
Gardner is passionate about politics and is looking forward to meeting political journalists. "I'm excited to hear what POLITICO journalists have to say about their careers covering politics,” Gardner said.
After her time at POLITICO, Gardner will stay in Washington D.C. for an internship with The American Prospect (TAP), a political magazine, where she will have the opportunity to pitch stories and write for the print magazine and the daily website.
Gardner is no stranger to hard work and dedication in an effort to pursue her professional goals. Through an independent study with Professor Kathy Roberts Forde, Gardner and UMass Journalism alum Brie Thompson-Bristol, class of 2021, spent the spring 2021 semester researching Mississippi and the South.
After Gardner read Race Against Time by journalist Jerry Mitchell, the book inspired her to prepare for the independent study over the summer by reading books about the South. She became interested in a story about the 1977 Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission's work with two newspapers to fight for segregation.
With the commission archives available online, Gardner, Thompson-Bristol and Forde were able to uncover the story of the Tougaloo Nine. The Tougaloo Nine were a group of African American students at Tougaloo College who helped desegregate public facilities in Mississippi during the civil rights movement. “I spent my whole semester digging into those archives, and it was a lot of fun,” Gardner said.
After writing a news essay on the Tougaloo Nine, Gardner, Thompson-Bristol and Forde's work was published in the Washington Post under the Made by History section in May 2021.
“Getting our piece published in the Washington Post was exciting for me because it was the first time I felt like my reporting could call attention to issues on a national level,” Gardner said. “One of the members of the Tougaloo Nine, Ethel Sawyer Adolphe, actually commented on the piece and I remember feeling amazed that the article had reached her and very proud that she seemed to like it, based on her comment.”
Gardner spent her time at UMass involved in campus media. She started writing for The Massachusetts Daily Collegian during her first year and is now the head news editor.
As a college student, Gardner interned at the Daily Hampshire Gazette and at FRONTLINE, the award-winning investigative documentary series produced by WGBH Boston and distributed nationally by PBS.
"I hadn’t realized I would get to do a lot of reporting during my internship with the Daily Hampshire Gazette," Gardner said. "It was so much fun writing stories and seeing them in print the next day."
Reflecting on her time at UMass Amherst, Gardner shared what she considers special about the journalism department. "Every professor I’ve had genuinely wants to see their students become successful journalists and succeed in the field after graduation,” Gardner said.
She encourages students to follow their passions no matter where it may lead. "Your passion will transfer into whatever you want to cover," Gardner said.