Hey everyone, Julian talking. I’ve got some very exciting news about Report Card that I can’t wait to share with you all.
Last time I reached out, I was asking for fundraising help so that Report Card could provide stipends to the students who signed up. I’m so grateful to everyone who shared that message or donated. We met our goal. Thanks to all of you, we’re able to provide stipends to a new group of students to cover their reporting expenses.
That good news implies more good news: we can get started equipping a new cohort of young journalists with the skills and resources they need to do important, student-centered education reporting. We’re coordinating schedules at the moment, but plan to begin training within the next two weeks. Reporting will take time, so I can’t promise any new stories too soon. But I can tell you that the wheels are in motion.
Report Card also has plans to grow. We’re planning to grow our team of student reporters, build our community presence, grow our audience and even apply for grants so that we have the resources for Report Card to reach its potential. The goal is to become a service and a resource that provides value to the local education community. And to help us to do that, here comes the most exciting news of all:
Hafeezat Bishi, an engagement journalist and friend, has joined Report Card as co-founder to take us to the next level. With that, I’ll turn it over to her.
Hi! My name is Hafeezat (she/her) and I’m so excited to be joining Report Card as a co-founder. Here’s a little bit about me:
I am a first generation Nigerian-American Muslim from northern New Jersey. I’m 22, my favorite color is yellow and I hope to own 2 cats within the next 6 months.
I recently graduated from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY with Julian this December. We were both in the engagement journalism class of 2022, so I’m excited to be partnering with him to bring student-driven journalism to the masses. I went to Temple University where I got my B.A. in Communication and Social Influence and my start in journalism with REFINE Magazine, a women founded and led magazine on our campus.
While I am currently a social media professional by day, I went to CUNY to learn more about how I could do storytelling work, and I’m excited to lend my professional and educational experience to these students!
In my free time, I freelance for non-profits, brands, and newsrooms to assist with their social media presence and overall audience engagement. I am technically a free agent though so if you’re hiring for a role, hit me up! I’m also working on my own personal content creation via YouTube and a soon-to-come podcast. If you’re interested in more of my background and the work I’ve done, you can check out my website at www.hafeezat.me. Feel free to follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok @_hafeezat.