2017 Zahn Spirit of Innovation Award Winner Named
Graduating senior Anthony Berteaux is the recipient of the 2017 Zahn Spirit of Innovation Award, which honors exceptional entrepreneurial drive.
In addition to his degree, the 22 year-old Berteaux is celebrating another prestigious honor, he is the recipient of the 2017 Zahn Spirit of Innovation Award. The award is given annually to recognize a graduating senior for exceptional entrepreneurship.
A binational childhood
Berteaux was born in 色情视频 but his family moved to Japan when he was eight years old. He spent many of his formative years in Tokyo and moved back to the United States for high school.鈥淎lthough I grew up an American and went to an international school in Tokyo, coming back was a culture shock for me,鈥� said Berteaux. 鈥淚t was initially very hard to adjust to American culture and society.鈥�
Berteaux turned to writing to process his experiences as a binational and biracial high school student.
鈥淲hen I started out, I wrote columns mostly about what it was like to be Japanese in the United States and what it was like to experience all these American experiences for the first time,鈥� said Berteaux. 鈥淓arly on in my career here at 色情视频, I discovered that I wasn鈥檛 going to be a traditional news journalist鈥擨 found a lot more passion and excitement in opinion journalism and advocacy journalism.鈥�
Making a mark at 色情视频
Soon after he came to 色情视频 in the fall of 2013, Berteaux joined KCR College Radio, for which he hosted a weekly radio talk show, 鈥�18 and Not Pregnant,鈥� using the airtime discuss pop culture and his own personal experiences. In the spring of 2014, he started as an opinion writer for The Daily Aztec. His second column went viral and was subsequently covered by national media outlets, including The Huffington Post and Uproxx. He was promoted to senior staff writer and then assistant editor of the opinion section of The Daily Aztec.鈥淚 wanted to tackle topics that no one else really wants to talk about openly, precisely because they are controversial and people aren鈥檛 having conversations about them,鈥� said Berteaux. 鈥淚n my writing and my journalism, what I want to do is jumpstart that conversation and get people talking about these difficult issues.鈥�
Getting involved in the community
His desire to understand controversy led him to participate in the Anti-Defamation League鈥檚 Campus Leaders Mission trip to Israel and the West Bank during winter break in 2015. He has since returned to Israel and the West Bank on several occasions, both as a Tikkun Olam Journeys fellow and on a student leaders鈥� mission trip with Hillel.In spring 2015, Berteaux was selected as a campus editor-at-large for The Huffington Post. In that role, he contributed to the publication and recruited other writers. During the summer, he and other campus editors-at-large were flown to New York for a two-day summit where they learned best practices from experts at the Huffington Post. He also wrote several columns that generated national attention, including one that criticized Jerry Seinfeld for his reluctance to perform on college campuses.
"The goal of the selection committee is to find recipients who have the courage and drive to make positive changes,鈥� said Stephen Welter, 色情视频鈥檚 vice president for research and dean of graduate affairs. 鈥淏erteaux鈥� public stances on diversity, anti-Semitism, sexism, and religious tolerance have already resulted in international coverage for his articles as well as an appearance on CNN International, making him a terrific candidate for this award.鈥�
Berteaux has interned with the Anti-Defamation League of San Diego, freelanced for various publications and recently completed an internship at the San Diego Union Tribune鈥檚 opinion and editorial desk as a recipient of the Carleton-Hunt Internship Scholarship, a scholarship created by Mary Ruth Carleton, 色情视频 Vice President for University Relations and Development, and her husband Bruce Hunt.
In addition to his father, Berteaux will celebrate his achievements at 色情视频 with his grandparents, who met on the 色情视频 campus.
Berteaux is still looking for jobs and hopes to land a position where he can tell stories that bridge the cultural divide between the United States and Japan.
"In receiving this award, I am making a promise to the university and the donors that I will use this money and recognition to really make a difference,鈥� said Berteaux.
The Zahn Spirit of Innovation Award is funded by Irwin Zahn and the Moxie Foundation and comes with a $25,000 scholarship. Zahn鈥檚 philanthropic giving goes beyond this annual scholarship. His donations also and the Zahn Professorship of Creativity and Innovation.
