School Board Superintendent of Schools

Lynn L. Gray, Chair Addison G. Davis

Stacy A. Hahn, Ph.D., Vice Chair
Nadia T. Combs Principal
Karen Perez Mary Freitas
Melissa Snively
Jessica Vaughn Assistant Principal for Curriculum
Henry “Shake” Washington Krista Luloff

Assistant Principal for Administration

Greg Lewandowski

Assistant Principals for Student Affairs

Traci Brown
Shane David
Aaron Schaedler

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing to recommend Jocelyn Elise Pritchard for the Emerging Young Journalist Award. First, I
need to acknowledge that Jocelyn is my daughter. However, I am the program director for SicklesTV,
the TV Production program at Sickles High School. I could write you a novel about why my daughter is
amazing, but I am here to tell you about my student. I will say one thing about my daughter. Like all
children, she listens to her dad last, so all of the accolades and awards that she has earned, she did all
that work on her own.

As a student, Jocelyn hit the ground running. As a lowly TV 1, she immediately made friends with the
“big dogs” in the program. They dragged her to everything, and with her huge personality and great
intellect, she jumped in with both feet.

When she was in middle school, she tagged along and ended up interviewing the superintendent of
schools – the person in charge of the 8th largest school district in the country. As a 9th grader, she
jumped in and created content with the upper students, winning awards by displaying skills she
shouldn’t even have. She was a powerhouse her first year, learning about creating journalism and being
free from bias to bring relevant information to her viewers.

Now, as a sophomore, Jocelyn is more of a leader than ever. Her program considers her one of the best
anchors and creators that we have. She is one of four students to anchor the news program because she
is such a strong writer and as such a great presence on camera. Her writing in her news packages shows
steady growth. Her interviews skills are among the best in the program.

Jocelyn truly understands the honesty of journalism. She gets that the lack of bias creates accuracy and
that her job as a reporter is to bring the facts. It was interesting to watch Jocelyn come to an
understanding that activism and journalism were different, but shining the light of unbiased truth into a
story was just as powerful as protesting, and that giving a voice to all sides helps people come to the
conclusions on their own.

As a teacher, I feel confident in recommending her for this prestigious award because I watch her hone
her skills and her discipline every time she makes a new package. She truly inspires me with her
honesty, ethics and dedication to the craft.

Thank you,
David Pritchard, M. Ed., N.B.C.T.
Program Director
Sickles High School

Walter L. Sickles High School  7950 Gunn Highway  Tampa, FL 33626  www.mysdhc.org/sickles
Main Office: 813-631-4742 Fax: 813-631-4754