Congratulations to Eder Ruiz Sánchez ’25, Swarthmore College’s 2024 Pulitzer Center Reporting Fellow, whose work on small-scale maíz farmers in San Felipe del Progreso, Mexico, was recently featured on the Swarthmore website. A program of the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting and supported by the Lang Center, the Pulitzer Center Reporting Fellowship is annually given to one student to complete an independent reporting project focusing on under-reported international issues in the mainstream media. Students receive a stipend to complete the project over ten weeks during the summer.

Ruiz Sánchez developed their project idea through various class assignments, as well as through speaking with family members. “My family back home in Mexico are campesinos, small-scale farmers,” notes Ruiz Sánchez, who grew up in San Rafael, CA. “When we call home, one of the most common things we hear is like, ‘Oh, our maíz, it's not growing. It's not raining or anything.’ That's where my interest in the project came from.”

Ruiz Sánchez is in the process of pitching his story to news outlets, with a focus on Mexican and other Spanish-language publications. Read more about Ruiz Sánchez’s project on the Swarthmore website, and view the Pulitzer Center Partnership page to learn more about the fellowship. Applications are due February 15th!