About the project

Every year, the Bridget O’Brien Scholarship Foundation gives a group of Daily Bruin staffers the opportunity to go on a fully-funded reporting trip to produce a package for the student newspaper.

The scholarship issued its first award in 2008, the year after Bridget O’Brien passed away in a car accident.

Bridget was a Daily Bruin alumnus and an ambitious, passionate journalist who took her reporting and photography around the globe.

During her final quarter at UCLA, she gave up her apartment to save money to travel to Central America and report on free trade coffee that was just taking off as a responsible form of coffee to buy.

After her death, the Foundation set up a scholarship to help other student journalists pursue their passions the way that Bridget did.

It is an honor to be chosen as the 2014 Bridget O’Brien Scholarship recipients.

Our project focuses on the ongoing recovery efforts in the Philippines after Typhoon Yolanda struck the nation in early November, 2013. Even though nearly a year has passed, the country is still feeling the effects of the storm, which is one of the strongest in recorded history.

While we’re in the Philippines reporting, we’ll be sharing our journey on our blog. And when we make it back to Los Angeles, we’ll create a full package of coverage to publish in the Daily Bruin early Fall quarter.

The story we’re pursuing focuses on following the money that UCLA students donated to relief efforts in the immediate aftermath of the typhoon. We hope to give students an idea of where their money went, who they helped and how much aid their donations were able to provide. ■