Palatine High School student receives journalism scholarship

The Northern Illinois News Association (NINA), a professional organization with member publications throughout the region, is pleased to announce the 2026 John Etheredge Northern Illinois High School Journalism Scholarship has been awarded to Karim Melek, who serves as Editor-in-Chief of The Cutlass, the student publication of Palatine High School in Palatine.

“This year’s applicants presented a strong field and it’s gratifying to see such great work from young journalists,” said Mary Helt Gavin, NINA president. “Karim is certainly a standout and Medill Northwestern University is fortunate to have him.”

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In addition, NINA board member Roger Ruthart added, “When Karim saw how the law could unfairly impact student journalism, he worked to try and get a law passed. When that failed he created a student media organization to continue the fight. All of this and he's passionate about local journalism. I can't wait to see where his future will take him.”

“ I am very grateful to have been awarded this scholarship from NINA,” says Melek. “College is very expensive, particularly at Northwestern. I'll be able to use this money to further my education and remove a huge financial burden from my family.”

Melek founded and is executive director of the Illinois New Voices Coalition. He plans to continue his involvement in the future. “We have a long fight ahead of us to safeguard high school newspaper advisers and protect student journalism,” he said.

Melek is enthusiastic about a journalism career and notes that his Palatine High School adviser,
Sean Berleman, was definitely his main inspiration in journalism. “Since my freshman year, Mr. Berleman has been a mentor of mine, helping me become a better writer and always pushing me to pursue new opportunities. I also just really enjoy journalism. Talking to and getting to meet so many different people just keeps me coming back for more.”

NINA maintains this scholarship fund to encourage high school students to continue to study journalism and to promote journalism careers. As a professional organization dedicated to advancing print and online journalism education and training in Northern Illinois, NINA is proud at the prospect of awarding this scholarship to a student who shows promise for a career in journalism.

NINA, a professional organization of newspaper and online media professionals, was founded in 1962. It sponsors the scholarship program to encourage high school students to continue to study journalism and to promote journalism careers. Over the past two decades, NINA has received over 600 scholarship applications and presented more than $35,000 in scholarships.

For more information visit ninaonlinedotorg.wordpress.com/.