17-Year-Old Wins First Monthly Socially-Conscious Journalism Prize

A Bronx, N.Y. teenager is the recipient of the first monthly award honoring socially-conscious journalism presented by the Sidney Hillman Foundation.

Yesterday, the foundation announced that it had awarded “The Sidney” to 17-year-old Victoria Cruz for a piece she did for public radio station WNYC as part of its Radio Rookies program. In her piece “Best Couple,” Cruz talks about her same-sex relationship with her girlfriend Deoine Scott and explains how their Bronx high school voted them Best Couple in the yearbook.

It’s a sweet story that touches on the lows of Cruz’s struggles to hide her sexuality and relationship from her grandmother and the highs of her senior prom. Throughout, she maintains a youthful perspective on a serious, adult topic of same-sex love.

“Teachers, classmates and people outside tell us we’re perfect, but we’re not,” Cruz says in her piece. “We go through the same mistakes other relationships go through. Disagreements — a lot of those, oh my God.”

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