For the third year in a row, a reporter from CRHS’s newspaper, The Riverhawk Review, has been selected for the Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Conference in Washington, D.C. Representing Idaho, Symanthia Jensen will be taking part in a trip to Washington, D.C. this June.
The conference includes a 5-day all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., during which Symanthia will meet with other reporters from their respective states. During the trip, the student reporters will visit and receive advice from journalism professionals, visit memorials, and participate in a dinner cruise.
The conference is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, with only one reporter selected from all the school newspapers in the state. It also includes a $1,000 scholarship.
Reporters selected for the conference, according to Al Neuharth’s Freedom Forum, are required to have a “free spirit,” as defined by the conference as someone who is a “risk-taker, a visionary, an entrepreneur, or a courageous achiever.”
“These kids might be people I work with in journalism someday, and it’s really cool that I’ll get to know them and build friendships across the country,” said Jensen.
The third selection in a row for CRHS’s school newspaper is a momentous occasion. “I think it says a great deal about our staff on The Riverhawk Review that we keep being selected for the Al Neuharth Conference,” said Dustin Henkelmann, the advisor of The Riverhawk Review.
Cameron English, last year’s representative, described the conference as an “eye-opener” and that “the trip gave me a view of my future and ambitions, which I hadn’t given much thought to before the conference.”
“I am incredibly excited for Sammie to attend the 2026 conference,” said English, “This opportunity does so much for personal growth and for connecting with other like-minded people, and I am super happy that she is getting it.”
“Sammie is one of the most capable, witty, genuine people I’ve ever had the pleasure of teaching. She is an exceptional writer, a serious professional, and a delightful human being. She absolutely deserves this honor, and I know she’ll represent The Riverhawk Review and Idaho well,” said Henkelmann.
Moving forward, Henkelmann said, “My hope is that, as we build the journalism program here at CRHS, a Riverhawk Review reporter represents Idaho at the Al Neuharth Conference every year.”
