NORFOLK, Va. - A scholarship has been created in memory of the Virginian-Pilot reporter that was tragically shot and killed on Granby Street in March.
The Virginia Press Association’s charitable arm, the Virginia Press Foundation, has partnered with the Hampton Roads Community Foundation, to establish the Sierra Jenkins Scholarship Fund.
Jenkins, a 25-year-old reporter for The Virginian-Pilot, was one of three people shot and killed on March 19.To honor the Norfolk native’s memory, the fund will provide scholarships to Virginia residents pursuing a degree in journalism or communications at a four-year Virginia college or university.
“The Virginia Press Foundation’s mission is to provide training and resources for student journalists,” said Anne Adams, president of the board of the foundation. “This scholarship fits directly with our mission and helps students further their education in our incredibly important field.”
Jenkins was a 2019 Georgia State University graduate who worked as a news assistant at CNN before returning home in 2020 to join The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press news teams.
"Sierra was all the things you look for in a journalist: curious, energetic, smart, driven,” said Kris Worrell, editor of The Virginian-Pilot and The Daily Press and a VPA and VPF board member. “She loved being an education reporter for her hometown newspaper and she had a way of getting people to talk to her. Maybe because she was so warm and such a good listener. People trusted her."
To donate to the Sierra Jenkins Scholarship Fund, click here.
The fund will begin accepting applications in December of this year and scholarships will be made available to students in the 2023-24 school year.
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