Annie Wright Schools’ Junior Julia Henning has been selected to represent the state of Washington at the 2020 Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Conference.

This Freedom Forum Institute program was established in 1999 to honor Al Neuharth, the founder of USA Today, Newseum and the Freedom Forum, and takes only one student from each state for an all-expenses paid 5-day conference. The program targets rising high school seniors who are interested in pursuing a career in journalism and who demonstrate qualities of “free spirit.” The conference is designed to inspire and encourage students to pursue journalism. In addition, students who participate in all sessions of this conference, and submit a project in their senior year to further the mission of First Amendment freedoms, will receive a $1,000 scholarship to the college of their choice. Typically the conference takes place in Washington, DC, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it will take place online at the end of June.

Julia has been an editor for the Annie Wright student news organization Inkwell, part of the Upper School (s)Electives program, for the past three years and will be editor-in-chief next year. Congratulations to Julia!

– Annie Wright Schools

From Al Neuharth, founder of the Free Spirit and Journalism Conference

“Free press, free speech and free spirit. The first two are easy to grasp: Free Press: The freedom to print or broadcast without censorship. Free Speech: The freedom to speak without compromise.

Free Spirit is harder to define.

Free spirits dream, dare and do. A free spirit can also be a risk-taker, a visionary, an innovative leader, an entrepreneur or a courageous achiever who accomplishes great things beyond his or her normal circumstances.

The Freedom Forum is committed to nurturing freedom across the USA. We hope the information on this website will inspire you to join in our mission to promote free press, free speech and free spirit for all people.”