Roxbury High School commends Carol McLaughlin, 2007 editor-in-chief of the Roxbury Review.

Carol McLaughlin has been selected as an Al Neuharth Free Spirit Scholarship and Conference Program winner. She is the third Roxbury student journalist to achieve this honor.

The scholarship and conference program was created in honor of Al Neuharth, founder of USA Today  newspaper, for his distinguished journalism career and his free spirit.

It is a great honor not only for Carol, but for the journalism program, that she has been selected, said Jane Hopper, journalism teacher and the Review’s adviser. Not only is Carol a superior student journalist, she is also an excellent role model in terms of her volunteerism in the Roxbury community.

McLaughlin, a senior, has been awarded a $1,000 college scholarship and will represent New Jersey, along with a male honoree, at the Freedom Forum’s Free Spirit Conference in Washington, D.C. from March 16 to 20. She is also eligible for a $50,000 scholarship; the winner of that scholarship will be announced at an awards ceremony at the end of the conference.

McLaughlin is one of 102 journalism students who were chosen nationally to represent all 50 states and the District of Columbia. In addition to meeting media professionals, news executives, and prominent free spirits, students will visit important sites in Washington, D.C., and engage in discussions on media issues. Student journalists are required to cover the conference and write about it when they return home.