2024 Philadelphia Sports Writers Association Scholarship recipients announced; Four students recognized at recent 120th PSWA Banquet
The Philadelphia Sports Writers Association is pleased to announce its recipients of the organization’s 2024 PSWA Scholarship Awards.
Four students, who are either natives of the Philadelphia area or attend Philadelphia area colleges or universities and are pursuing careers in journalism, broadcast journalism, media, public relations, media relations or a related area, each received $1,000 awards from the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association Foundation. The four winners — Adrianna Gallucci, Courtney Combs, Jackson Juzang and Taimar Stubbs — were recognized at the 120th PSWA Banquet on Thursday, January 16, 2025, at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Cherry Hill, NJ.
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Adrianna Gallucci was the recipient of the PSWA’s signature award, the Jack Scheuer Scholarship, named in honor of the former Associated Press sports writer and longtime PSWA member and officer. Gallucci, a junior at Penn State University and a native of Lafayette, NJ, owns a 3.5 overall GPA while majoring in Broadcast Journalism with a double minor in sports studies as well as legal studies and pursuing a certificate in sports journalism. On campus, she is a general manager of CommRadio, Penn State’s student-run multimedia outlet which does extensive coverage of Penn State athletics. She covers Penn State ice hockey for CommRadio and has also been a part of the BigTen Plus Network’s student broadcast crew for PSU men’s and women’s ice hockey, wrestling and softball. Among her activities away from campus, Gallucci is a member of the Association for Women in Sports Media.
Courtney Combs, who resides in Berlin, NJ, attends Richard Stockton University in Galloway, NJ, and is a senior there. She entered the 2024-25 academic year with a 3.99 GPA and is pursuing her BA in Communication Studies with a minor in writing. In the 2022-23 academic year, Combs was named the Communication Studies New Student of the Year and also received a 2023 Stockton Academic Excellence Award. Since 2022, Combs has been a camp administrator for the annual Jalen Brunson Basketball Skills Academy, held at Villanova University. Brunson was the PSWA’s Amateur Athlete of the Year at the 2019 banquet.
Jackson Juzang, a native of Pittsburgh, PA, is a junior at Haverford College in Haverford, PA, majoring in English with a 3.65 overall GPA after completing the fall semester of his junior year. Outside of the classroom on campus, Juzang is an Associate Editor as well as the Media Editor and interim Sports Editor for the Haverford College independent student newspaper, The Clerk. Among his activities away from school, Juzang had an internship as a Technical Writer and Community Outreach Specialist for TGR, the Tiger Woods Foundation in the summer of 2024. He also founded his own media collective, PBJ Productions.
Taimar Stubbs of Philadelphia is a junior at Temple University and has compiled a 3.47 GPA after his first two years on North Broad Street while majoring in Media Studies and Production. Along with his coursework, Stubbs has been a volunteer with OwlSports Update, helping to produce the weekly sports program featuring athletes and teams in Temple’s athletics program. Also, since 2023, he has been giving back to his alma mater — Carver Engineering and Science High School — by helping to increase the social media presence for the school’s boys’ and girls’ basketball teams by creating game recap videos with highlights and interviews. Stubbs was also a recipient of a 2024 NABJ Scholarship.
Other award winners and honored guests at the 120th PSWA Banquet included Bill Giles (Living Legend), the 1984-85 Philadelphia Stars (Living Legend Team), Charlie Manuel (Most Courageous Sportsperson), the Saint Joseph’s University field hockey team (Team of the Year) and more.
The mission of the non-profit Philadelphia Sports Writers Association and its corresponding PSWA Foundation is to assemble a group of sports media members in the common pursuit to sponsor and direct functions in the interest of furthering sports: to work to assure suitable facilities and conditions at area sports venues; to aid in the college education of worthy men and women who wish to pursue careers in sports (media, management, public relations, etc.); to support youth and amateur athletic activities in the Philadelphia region; to aid other worthy charities, typically those that are sports-related; to place and maintain sports on a high standard in the Philadelphia region and across the nation; and to establish and fund a charitable foundation to provide scholarship aid to students interested in pursuing a career in sports or sports-related activities.
The PSWA Foundation is an independent, 501(c)(6) charitable organization committed to promoting diversity among journalism professionals and companies so they can best serve the public good and address the needs of a diverse world. Headquartered in Philadelphia, PA, the PSWA Foundation was chartered as a not-for-profit organization. The PSWA Foundation supports programs that attract, assist, and prepare young adults to enter the journalism profession. It works with employers and industry organizations to create workplace-based inclusion efforts to welcome, support, and retain a diverse workforce.