2024 Free Spirit Scholar: Shannon Raneri

I’m here writing this because Freedom Forum believes that I am a Free Spirit and that I dream, dare, and do.  Looking back, it was one thing to be there representing our respective states.  It was another thing to represent the nation’s future generation of journalists.  But it is something else entirely indescribable to be a part of the legacy of a media magnate, Al Neuharth.  It’s an honor I only dreamed of.  Freedom Forum made that dream a reality.

In June, I had the privilege to represent the state of Massachusetts in Washington, D.C., at the Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Conference.  The experience was as amazing as it sounds.  One rising high school senior is selected from every state and the District of Columbia to meet in the nation’s capital to learn about journalism, the importance of the First Amendment, and how they can be fused together to leave an impact powerful enough to change society’s thinking.

Forty-nine other students (there was no representation from Tennessee) and I went to our nation’s capital to start a week of learning about First Amendment rights and everything that is journalism, and hearing from countless speakers.  We soaked up everything the conference had to offer.  Panelists and Free Spirit alumni spoke about their careers in journalism.  Being able to listen to panelists give their insight on journalism was amazing.  We had the honor of meeting Al Neuharth’s family, Chuck Todd, Brian Lamb, Weijia Jiang, and many more authors and journalists (some were Pulitzer Prize winners!).

Outside of the Freedom Forum building, we had a lot of fun touring monuments, trivia, getting boba in Chinatown, and having a massive party on a cruise along the Potomac.  After the conference’s conclusion, our massive group chat has been used every single day as a way for us to always be connected.  I couldn’t have asked for a better experience.

As an essay prompt for the conference’s application, applicants were to write how they defined Free Spirits, but my definition changed by the time the conference concluded.  The conference states that Free Spirits “Dream.  Dare.  Do.”  Going into the conference, I didn’t entirely know what that meant.  Looking back, I was already a Free Spirit before I got there.  I dreamed about participating in the conference as soon as I learned about it.  I dared to apply, thinking that it was a long shot that I would be accepted.  When it was time to leave for Washington D.C., I had to travel by myself for the first time and that took more courage than I thought it would.  During the conference, I made new friends (how many can say they know someone in every state; one of our panelists was from Tennessee), tried catfish by mistake, and discovered who I was as a Free Spirit.  The Free Spirit motto sticks with you.  “Dream.  Dare.  Do.” is said over and over in my head.  It dares me to be a Free Spirit."