Villanova senior Lydia McFarlane awarded CBS Philadelphia's Trudy Haynes Scholarship
VILLANOVA, Pa. (CBS) -- CBS Philadelphia is proud to once again award the annual Trudy Haynes Scholarship to a local college student pursuing a career in journalism.
The $10,000 prize was created in honor of Haynes, who became the first Black TV reporter in the city when she joined CBS Philadelphia in 1965.
Our camera followed along as CBS News Philadelphia anchor Janelle Burrell helped surprise this year's winner, Villanova University senior Lydia McFarlane, with her big check.
McFarlane had no idea we were showing up to her classroom, but handled the surprise well.
"I am so honored," McFarlane said. "Trudy Haynes was a trailblazer, and the fact that she spent her career in local media was just amazing. And she truly felt that she cared about her community and the people that she was covering."
Not only was Trudy fueled by that compassion, but she was also tenacious, traits McFarlane shares.
McFarlane has a 4.0 GPA as a communication and political science double major, with a minor in Russian Area Studies.
"My dad is from Jamaica, and when he came here, my grandmother was very insistent on education, and so my parents instilled those views into me and my brother."
She also served as the news editor for The Villanovan, the university's student-run newspaper.
"I got involved with the student newspaper right away. It was during COVID," McFarlane said. "I was actually in my freshman year from my parents house on Zoom... joining the student newspaper was a way for me to connect with my peers."
She's gone on to intern at publications including Education Week, The Hill and Teen Vogue.
"As a Black journalist, I like to tell the stories of those who haven't had their stories told before or have a distrust of the media," McFarlane said. "I want to continue to build that relationship and build that trust back because I think that media can really be a tool to help marginalized people."
Kelly Frank, president and general manager of CBS News Philadelphia, was proud to continue the tradition of the scholarship.
"I think it's phenomenal. And we need more journalists," Frank said. "When it comes to legacy media organizations, there is so much distrust and if we can be visible and we can be present, and we can show them how we do what we do, it creates a greater understanding and ideally repairs some of the damage and distress that has been done."
The Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists also helped to select Lydia as this year's winner.
"This is the future of what Lydia represents is a continuation of the legacy in the history of not only Trudy Haynes, but of Black journalists that have have really created and fortified the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, and we're really proud of her," said Ernest Owens, PABJ's president.
Like Trudy Haynes, Lydia has a determined spirit — and we can't wait to watch her continue to flourish.
"This is just such an honor and I hope to continue my work and her legacy," she said.
McFarlane will graduate from Villanova in May and hopes to begin her career working as a print reporter here in her home state of Pennsylvania, covering community issues.
