By Jasmin Shirley
City and state officials announced the establishment of a new scholarship to honor the memory of the journalist and former CUNY student Ruschell Boone, who died last year of pancreatic cancer.
Boone was an Emmy Award-winning journalist with NY1 News who had a passion for education and social justice. She was born and raised in Jamaica before immigrating to the Bronx with her family when she was 11 years old. After graduating high school she went to Baruch College in Manhattan.
When she was a senior in college, a classmate missed a scheduled slot on the college radio station, giving her the opportunity to jump in. This was the beginning of what became her life’s work, telling the stories of New Yorkers as a broadcast news journalist.
She eventually wound up working for NY1 cable television news from 2002. Her work was well known and recognized for the numerous awards throughout her career, including Best Spot News Reporting from the New York Association of Black Journalists, a New York Press Club Award for Best Feature Reporting, and a New York Emmy Award.
After nearly two decades of telling the news from the street, Boone moved to the anchor desk in 2021, where she brought New Yorkers the latest each day at noon on News All Day. On June 2, 2022, Boone celebrated 20 years at NY1, surrounded by colleagues. Shortly after, she learned she had pancreatic cancer and began a grueling fight which led to her death in 2023.
The scholarship, which was announced in late September by New York State Attorney General Letitia James and CUNY Board of Trustees Chairman William Thompson, is specifically geared to assist journalism majors of West Indian ancestry in either Baruch College or CUNY’s graduate school of journalism, The Craig Newmark School of Journalism.
Funded with an initial commitment of $125,000 by CUNY, future scholarships are supposed to be awarded to high-achieving students from underprivileged backgrounds who demonstrate academic excellence, financial need, and a strong commitment to community service. The scholarship can be used to cover tuition, fees, room and board, and other educational expenses at accredited colleges and universities.
By providing financial assistance to deserving students, the Ruschell Boone Scholarship could help to level the playing field and ensure that talented individuals from all walks of life have the opportunity to reach their full potential.
