Christina Kelso - Scholars - The Gordon Parks Foundation

Christina Kelso, 24, is a 2015 graduate of Jacksonville University where she majored in communication with a journalism specialization and minors in photography and philosophy. As an undergraduate, she served as editor-in-chief of JU’s student newspaper, The Navigator, and worked two internships as a writer and photojournalist for The Florida Times-Union. She graduated Magna Cum Laude with University Honors. Since July 2016, she has worked as photojournalist for The St. Augustine Record in St. Johns County, Florida. There, she covered the impacts and aftermaths of Hurricanes Matthew and Irma, which struck the area 11 months apart. Covering these storms motivated her to become a stronger reporter. At Columbia Journalism School she hopes to hone her visual, investigative and written reporting skills. She aspires to work as a multimedia journalist, producing video, photography and written reporting for newspapers. She was born and raised in Middleburg, Florida, a small community near Jacksonville.

A man sweeps the patio of his condo in Summerhouse Beach and Racquet Club in Crescent Beach, Fla. on Tuesday, September 12, 2017, the day after a tornado within Hurricane Irma ripped entire walls and ceilings from several condominiums in the complex. (Christina Kelso/ The St. Augustine Record

Demonstrators circle the Plaza de la Constitucion in downtown St. Augustine, Fla. on Saturday, November 18, 2017 during the city’s annual Nights of Lights opening night celebration to advocate for the removal of two confederate monuments located in the plaza. (Christina Kelso/ The St. Augustine Record

A man and dog sleep together on the side of St. George Street in St. Augustine, Fla. on Tuesday, October 31, 2017. (Christina Kelso/The St. Augustine Record

Family, friends and supporters gathered in Jacksonville Beach, Fla. on November 23, 2013 to celebrate the life of Jordan Davis through a vigil marking the one-year anniversary of the 17-year-old's death. With Jordan Davis' father Ron Davis at the center, a group of well-wishers holds hands and bows their heads in prayer at the start of the event. (Christina Kelso/The Florida Times-Union