Date: Nov 30, 2011

Hofstra Senior Named Rising Apprentice with Fox News

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY --  Luz Peña, a Hofstra senior majoring in journalism, has been named an Ailes Rising Apprentice for 2011, winning a $10,000 scholarship and a paid summer internship with Fox News.

The Ailes Rising Apprentice program identifies and nurtures promising journalists at the college level, and was created this year by Fox News Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Roger Ailes.  It is an extension of his longtime Ailes Apprentice Program, which awards year-long paid jobs with benefits to qualified minority journalists.

Peña, along with fellow recipient Sakeeda Freeman of St. Augustine’s College, won the award on the strength of her good academic standing, outstanding résumé and an essay.   Applicants to the program must also be a junior or senior at one of Fox’s partner universities.  She is slated to work on Fox News’ FNCU website during the summer of 2012.

“Fox News Channel is pleased to work with Hofstra University, which shares the network’s commitment to advancing and developing young talent in the broadcast industry,” said Ailes.

Earlier this year, Peña and fellow Hofstra School of Communication student Philip Robibero won the mtvU 2011 Oscars® Red Carpet Correspondent Contest, earning a spot on the red carpet where she interviewed celebrities including Gwyneth Paltrow, Russell Brand, Mila Kunis and Mark Ruffalo.

“Luz is an up-and-coming player in the world of TV news and possibly entertainment,” says journalism professor G. Stuart Smith, who has taught Peña in his TV reporting and production classes.  “She is bright and outgoing, certainly traits that one needs to succeed in the world in front of a TV camera.  She is also bilingual, which will be a big plus as globalization continues to come to play a bigger role in our world.”

Peña, who will graduate in May next year, is grateful for the opportunity with Fox News. “Getting into the Ailes Rising Apprentice program is a huge stepping stone as I try to break into the industry,” she says.  “It will help me tremendously in my career.”

The Rising Apprentice recipients were introduced during a recent graduation ceremony for current apprentices at Fox’s headquarters in New York City.  Featured speakers at the event included Ailes, former NYC Mayor David Dinkins, former astronaut Jose Hernandez and The Fox Report anchor Shepard Smith.

Hofstra University is a dynamic private institution where students can choose from more than 150 undergraduate and 160 graduate programs in liberal arts and sciences, business, communication, education and allied health services and honor studies, as well as a School of Law and the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine.

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