CBS Philadelphia awards Trudy Haynes Scholarship winner with $10K
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- CBS News Philadelphia is excited to award a deserving college student with the second Annual Trudy Haynes Scholarship. Trudy Haynes was the first Black TV reporter in Philadelphia, hired by CBS News Philadelphia in 1965.
The legacy of Philadelphia's first Black television reporter lives on through the next generation.
"He's a rising star," Ernest Owens said.
Temple University junior, Corey Thompson, is this year's winner of the CBS News Philadelphia's Trudy Haynes Scholarship, a collaboration with the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, honoring the late Eyewitness News reporter Trudy Haynes who he had the chance to meet in 2019.
We surprised Thompson during his class on Temple's campus and presented him with $10,000.
"I'm just shaken because I didn't know I was gonna win, so just to see you guys come up with the check it was just emotional," Thompson said.
Before Temple, Thompson served for four years in the Air Force as a Senior Airman in New Jersey but when he visited Temple, he knew he was home.
In his application essay, he explained why he now plans to become a TV news reporter.
"When I think of Trudy Haynes, I think of how she became a pioneer by breaking molds and showing up as her true self," Thompson said. "I want to challenge society in Philadelphia through storytelling."
"I think his passion and excitement really showed out and his love for Trudy as well," Owens said. "I think there's really something to be said for we're seeing young broadcasters continue to seek truth to power and look for the facts, and those are things that Trudy told us all about."
Thompson says his internships and classes motivate him to use journalism as a way to shed light on under-represented communities.
"That made me want to be even more connected with the community and tell their stories," Thompson said. "I like being out in the field, I like telling the stories of people and just being around people."
"Diversity equity and inclusion is not only about what you do behind the scenes it's what you're doing in the community," Owens said. "I know Trudy is looking down smiling on us."
"I am just grateful for what she had done for the community," Thompson said.
The impact of Trudy Haynes is still deeply felt today.
