Ana Sesma, a 2023 graduate  of Mill Creek High School, has been named the 2023 Gwen Ifill Student of the Year. The award, sponsored by the News Literacy Project (NLP), honors the trailblazing journalist — and longtime NLP supporter and board member — who died in 2016. It is presented to female students of color who represent the values Ifill brought to journalism.

Ana was nominated by her language arts teacher, Erin Wilder, who says, “Ana has a grasp of the world beyond our high school and the ‘bubble’ of her peers. The work Ana did in class has helped change how she engages with information and media and given her a fuller perspective and the ability and understanding of the importance of analyzing sources and content.”

Ana believes that news literacy skills help her navigate an often-confusing information landscape that includes social media which she says can be harmful. Ana adds, “Social media’s pretty toxic for body image and for mental health. Viral posts create unrealistic expectations, and it’s really easy for you to spiral down that hole. I believe it is my responsibility to take these lessons and apply (them) to all the media I am consuming, so when I am trying to learn more, I have nearly all perspectives on the topic.” Ana will receive the award at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. on June 8.    

*Gwen Ifill was a highly respected, award-winning journalist who was the first Black woman to host a national political talk show on television as moderator of Washington Week, and she was a member (with Judy Woodruff) of the first female co-anchor team of a national news broadcast, on PBS NewsHour.

**The NLP, the nation’s leading provider of news literacy education, is a nonpartisan education nonprofit that is building a national movement to advance the practice of news literacy throughout American society, creating better informed, more engaged and more empowered individuals – and ultimately a stronger democracy.