USC Annenberg will award Sarah Bergstrom (’15) and Evan Budrovich (’15) the 2013-2014 Chick Hearn Memorial Scholarship, and both students will be recognized during halftime at the Los Angeles Lakers-Sacramento Kings game Sunday, Nov. 24.
The winners of the scholarship are announced each year on Chick Hearn Night at the Staples Center, celebrated at the Lakers home game falling closest to Hearn’s birthday.
As recipients of the $6,000 scholarship, Bergstrom and Budrovich are also eligible to interview for an internship at Time Warner Cable Sportsnet.
Bergstrom, from Portland, Ore., is majoring in public relations and minoring in sports media and nonprofits, philanthropy and volunteerism. She works for the USC Sports Information Department, does social media for USC Athletics, and works in the sports and web media department of Annenberg TV News.
“Being awarded the Chick Hearn Scholarship is an incredible honor,” said Bergstrom. “To have people believe in my dreams and want to invest in my future gives me so much motivation to continue to achieve more.”
After she graduates from USC Annenberg, Bergstrom said she would like to work in the community relations department of a professional sports team or athletic company. She hopes to one day establish an NCAA program that would send athletes on volunteer trips to third-world countries.
The latter goal was shaped in large part after a volunteer trip to Haiti with several members of the football team last summer. Bergstrom realized that sports act as a “universal language” in the world and can “bridge any social, socio-economic or physical boundary.”
Bergstrom and Budrovich were also two of three winners of the 2013-2014 Allan Malamud Endowed Scholarship, which also recognizes sports journalists at USC Annenberg.
Budrovich is broadcast and digital journalism major and sports media studies minor from Torrance, Calif. He is the sports producer for Annenberg TV News and the sports editor for Neon Tommy.
“For me, sports transcend the box score, because they are about the individual experiences of pain, celebration and effort that can be depicted in a tremendous broadcast,” Budrovich wrote on his scholarship application. “Broadcasting has given me the means to exercise my love for preparation, presentation and persistence.”
Budrovich also has interned for NFL Network and KCBS/KCAL Sports, but he described being awarded the Chick Hearn Memorial Scholarship as a “game changer.”
“It not only confirms that my hard work here at USC is paying dividends but it also gives me the motivation to continue expanding my skills as a sports journalist,” said Budrovich.
Chick Hearn spent more than 40 years as the announcer for the Los Angeles Lakers and several more as an announcer for USC football and basketball. He was also inducted into USC’s Skull and Dagger Society as the “Voice of Troy” in 1959.
With the support of the Los Angeles Lakers and the Hearn Family, the Chick Hearn Memorial Scholarship was established in 2002 to honor the late sports broadcasting icon.
The public may contribute to the fund to help deserving journalism students seeking careers in sports broadcasting. Donations may be sent to USC Annenberg Chick Hearn Fund, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, 3502 Watt Way, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0281.
