ThreeSixty Journalism

Chicago! You showed up and out for our student journalists!
Our Youth Leadership Board and staff recently returned from our second annual national journalism learning trip where we spent several days immersed in Chicago’s civic spirit and vast local news ecosystem.

Our first stop was the city’s front porch, Navy Pier, where we visited WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times. The best part? Students were invited to watch the morning news show In the Loop live behind the scenes with executive producer Dan Tucker. Thank you Meg Flynn and Tracy Brown for making it happen!

From there, we headed to Injustice Watch, where editor Jonah Newman and reporter Carlos Ballesteros (thank you!) gave students an inside look at investigative reporting and the human stories often hidden inside big data sets. Everyone walked out the door knowing how to make a FOIA request.

Next, we traveled to Northwestern University Medill School, where our students received a tailored-to-them admissions presentation (thank you Dan MacKenzie and Michael Spikes) and connected with ThreeSixty alumni Dallas Downey, Gloria Ngwa, and McCall Vickers who are all studying journalism there.

And of course, no journalism trip is complete without exploring and reporting on the ground. We took an architectural boat tour, ate dinner in Chinatown, caught a showing of Les Miserables, and interviewed an indie film programmer before watching a screening at the historic Davis Theater.

Travel expands a young person’s worldview and so does journalism. Getting to do them together in one of the most vibrant and innovative cities in the world was an immense privilege. Thanks to the many, many people who helped us plan this one-of-a-kind experience.

And…stay tuned. Every student had a reporting assignment, and stories from Chicago are on the way.

It’s time to make one of our favorite announcements of the year…

Margarita Rosales Alarcón has been awarded our 2026 full-tuition scholarship to study emerging media at the University of St. Thomas!

Margarita participated in more than TEN ThreeSixty programs during high school, including serving on our inaugural Youth Leadership Board.

Her reporting has explored immigration, education, gun violence, addiction and recovery, and has been published by Sahan Journal, The Minnesota Star Tribune, the Pioneer Press, MPR News, MinnPost, and more.

She is thoughtful, courageous, deeply committed to her community, and exactly the kind of truth-teller our world needs.

Read more about Margarita here: https://threesixty.stthomas.edu/meet-threesixtys-2026-scholar/

We can’t wait to see where this next chapter takes you, Margarita, and we’re with you every step of the way. Congratulations! 🎓

Meet ThreeSixty’s 2026 Scholar - ThreeSixty Journalism Margarita Rosales Alarcón has been awarded a full-tuition scholarship to study at St. Thomas.

“We’re here. We matter. And we want to be taken seriously by adults.”

"We need to be heard about our struggles, mental health, school pressure, and not always feeling supported. A lot of us are dealing with things people don't see."

That’s what Rochester high school students reported in our first-ever pop-up journalistic podcast workshop last week.

In partnership with MPR News and Rochester Public Schools, students were exposed to audio journalism and given the tools to create it in a single day at MPR’s office in Rochester.

Working with seasoned pros from MPR News and ThreeSixty, ten students researched, reported, and wrote an original podcast episode: Speak Up Minnesota: Rochester edition.

The result is an honest and student-driven reflection on what youth believe they need to be heard about.

🎧 Listen: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5LjQBij8D6NfHHt54AhwvS?si=OeN-kw5MTkCrQTvzKSLihA

This is what’s possible when young people have education, tools, and the platform to tell their communities stories.

Interested in doing something like it in your community? Reach out!

We took the weekend, and we’re still struggling to find words for what happened last Thursday night.

Homecoming 2026, our 25th anniversary celebration, was beyond our wildest dreams. This community showed up in every way.

Aaliyah Demrywas a flawless host—the epitome of our reason for being.

Our awardees, Georgia Fortand Hannah Allam, exemplified the high stakes and essential work of journalism as a public service during this chapter in American life.

Alumna Emma Carew Grovumand current students Alexis Aryeequaye and Daphney Kleinschmit reminded us how far an investment in a talented young journalist goes.

And wow. We feel like the luckiest program in the world to have Dr. Yohuru Williams in our corner, rallying folks to raise funds for our work.

Together we raised $104,000 for our 2026 programming. An additional $50,000 endowment gift announced by the Saint Paul Jaycees Charitable Foundation means our students will have access to a paid summer internship in local journalism forever.

Special thanks to the UUniversity of St. Thomas College of Arts and Sciences(our home and our rock!), our youth board, our industry leadership council, and our staff. Thank you to our attendees, sponsors, and supporters who weren’t in the room. We are forever grateful for your enduring commitment to our mission.

Big news: We’re honoring independent journalist Georgia Fort at Homecoming on April 16.

Georgia models courage, accountability, and deep commitment to community—exactly the kind of leadership we work to inspire in our students.

Tickets are going FAST. Get yours today. Early bird pricing ends March 1. https://threesixty.stthomas.edu/event/threesixty-journalism-homecoming-2026

Thank you to our generous and growing list of Homecoming sponsors: Best Buy, The Minnesota Star Tribune, Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal (MSPBJ), Pioneer Management Consulting, Minnesota Public Radio, Red Canary Magazine, Minnesota Reformer, Pioneer Press, Sahan Journal, and MinnPost.

Exciting news: Hannah Allam of ProPublica is joining us as an honored guest for our 25th anniversary “Homecoming” celebration!

Hannah covers national security, with a focus on counterterrorism, militant movements, and political violence for ProPublica. She previously held the same beat at The Washington Post, where she was part of two Pulitzer Prize–winning teams, and at NPR, where she reported live during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

On April 16, Hannah will return to the Twin Cities, where she began her career at the Pioneer Press and used her PTO to volunteer at ThreeSixty’s overnight camps at the University of St. Thomas.

Don’t miss this special and important night: https://threesixty.stthomas.edu/event/threesixty-journalism-homecoming-2026
Early bird ticket pricing ends March 1.

Last week, Minnesota Reformer reporter and ThreeSixty volunteer Madison McVan spoke with our Youth Leadership Board members (https://threesixty.stthomas.edu/360-home/about-360/youth-leadership-board/) about covering immigration in Minnesota right now.

Our hour-long conversation was candid and realistic, and we appreciate Madi for preparing our student journalists to produce stories that matter.

The next morning, local independent journalist Georgia Fort was arrested for covering a protest at a St. Paul church. Even as the profession has becomes more perilous and free speech is threatened, local reporters continue to provide essential coverage for our communities and the nation.

💜Aaliyah Demry—multimedia journalist at KTTC News in Rochester and THREESIXTY ALUM—will host Homecoming 2026 💜

She embodies our essential mission: equipping young people to be sense makers, truth tellers, and bridge builders for an equitable society through multimedia journalism. We are incredibly proud of all she has accomplished and are thrilled to have her back with us in this full-circle moment.

Join us April 16 at the Minneapolis Club for an evening of connection and investment in the future of a representative free press and a just democracy.

Tickets: https://threesixty.stthomas.edu/event/threesixty-journalism-homecoming-2026

Thanks to our sponsors: Best Buy, Star Tribune, Minneapolis-St Paul Business Journal, Sahan Journal, MinnPost. Want to join them? Email [email protected]