By: Samantha Craddock
Juliannie Ayala, a senior double major in journalism and legal studies, has recently been selected to attend the 14th annual Gloria L. Negri First Amendment Institute, hosted at Northeastern University from Oct. 20-22. Ayala is the first UMass Amherst student to attend the institute, and will join seven other journalism students from both Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
The Gloria L. Negri First Amendment Institute is held by the New England First Amendment Coalition (NEFAC), an organization dedicated to protecting First Amendment freedoms. Annually, it invites a select group of journalism students to train with professional reporters, editors and producers from news organizations around New England.
Justin Silverman, the director of the program and NEFAC, reached out to John Ciampa and Beth Wallace, the two advisors of the journalism department, and asked them to nominate a handful of students for the program.
“(Ayala) is an outstanding student, very strong academically but also very curious and interested in journalism and law,” Ciampa said about Ayala. “This is an opportunity that unites both of those fields. And it seemed like she was the perfect candidate, one who would really represent the department well, someone who has a passion for both fields.”
Ayala is the Head of Podcast as well as Event Coordinator and Consultant for the Black Mass Communications Project, and a journalism intern for Witness to Mass Incarceration Inc. (WITNESS). WITNESS is an organization dedicated to fostering economic liberation for formerly incarcerated individuals (FIP), system-impacted persons, LGBTQ+ youth, women and the migrant community. Ayala was previously a newswriter for the Daily Collegian and a writing and reporting intern for Live Boston 617.
“I would like to thank Beth and John, especially John, for nominating me, or even considering me,” Ayala said. “He knew I was struggling to find internships and that I’ve been wanting to get more involved now that I’m a senior, and he just knew this was a good fit for me.”