Scott Seamon is a reporter for the Horizon student newspaper of Westwood High School in Austin, Texas. In conjunction with the regional organizing team, Seamon works alongside Kaitlyn Nash and Rachel Setlik to build a stronger network of support for the New Voices cause.

“I believe it’s important to advocate for Student Press 
organizations having freedoms as equal to their peers at the professional level. This is because both student 
journalists and professional 
journalists have the same goal: 
informing the public, which would 
be extremely unfair if the students, most of whom strive to get to the 
level of the professionals, aren’t 
afforded the same rights as those 
who’ve already been in the field for multiple years.”

What I Do

As one of the three Regional Organizing Specialists of New Voices Texas, I work to assist regional organizers and other officers in reaching out to high school journalists in their regions, help create coalitions in their parts of the state, and assist in any way asked. My specific area is the Austin-San Antonio area, but I can help outside of that if the need arises.

I plan to collaborate with the incoming and existing officers, along with my fellow specialists, by attending every meeting that I can, and to be available to work online and in-person when needed.

I will measure my success by frequently checking in with my officer counterparts and fellow specialists for feedback on what I’ve done or attempted to do so far, how I can improve, and for suggestions on what to do moving forward. By the end of this year, I hope that I have significantly impacted or been able to help push legislation through the Texas legislative tunnel.