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A St. Bonaventure University student journalist will spend his summer covering a story that makes international headlines daily: U.S. immigration policy.

Junior David Scibilia will spend 10 weeks this summer participating in the prestigious Carnegie-Knight News21 reporting initiative, which is headquartered at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. He will join 21 other student journalists from across the country to report on this year’s News21 theme, “Immigration under Donald Trump.”

Leading up to the summer program, this semester the fellows are taking part in an online News21 issues seminar and have begun preliminary reporting.

Scibilia’s reporting team – dubbed Detention USA Group – is focused on immigration detention facilities across the country. They’ve already found it difficult to stay on top of changing policies and priorities.

“From the beginning of the semester to now, [government policy] has changed so many times. Even weekly, we’re getting so many new updates that are changing the scope of our reporting,” he said.

Scibilia doesn’t know what locales he’ll be traveling to this summer, but it’s likely multiple states, including New Jersey, Kansas and Michigan.

“One of the hardest parts about the Detention USA Group — and what a lot of my colleagues and I are running into — is that not a lot of people want to talk. Specifically, we’re trying to get to family members of detainees or people who have been detained. But due to the legal proceedings right now, most lawyers don’t want their clients talking to reporters. We’re trying to find the small minority of people who have been detained whose legal process has been completed,” he said.

Scibilia’s goal for the summer is straightforward: “I really hope I can do these stories justice.”

“At the Jandoli School, we learn a lot about theory and how to be a good journalist. But it’s rare to get the opportunity to travel across the country and be able to seek out these people who have these super important stories,” he said.

“David represents the best of the Jandoli School and his drive, tenacity and commitment to investigative reporting will serve him well covering this important topic,” said Aaron Chimbel, dean of the Russel J. Jandoli School of Communication at St. Bonaventure, who nominated Scibilia for the fellowship.

A journalism major from Syracuse, Scibilia has distinguished himself as a dedicated student journalist, contributing to the The Bona Venture student newspaper and Tapinto Greater Olean. He also serves as a student leader with BonaResponds, reflecting his commitment to community service, and interned with PolitiFact NY.

Scibilia is grateful for the support of the Jandoli School faculty and students, who have been instrumental in shaping his journalistic skills and values.

“I’m excited to be able to participate in this. This is something a lot of my colleagues have done in the past,” Scibilia said. When he was a first-year student, his mentor, Cassidey Kavathas, ’23, received the fellowship. “It propelled me to start taking journalism a lot more seriously during my freshman year so I could get these opportunities.”

When he was considering colleges, Scibilia wanted to stay in New York state and wanted a small school with a good journalism program. On his first visit to St. Bonaventure, he met now-retired journalism professor Dr. Denny Wilkins. Wilkins and the School of Communication impressed him.

In the school, “office hours are suggestions,” Scibilia quips. “You can go to your professors anytime their door is open.”

Wilkins has been an important mentor in Scibilia’s undergraduate studies, but he’s found all faculty in the school are helpful, such as when he needed a quick photography tutorial for the fellowship and turned to Scott Sackett. “All of the faculty want you to succeed,” he said.

Scibilia likes the pressure and rapid speed of journalism.

“I love that fast-paced environment where it’s very much you against the clock. It makes you work fast and it really tests your skills,” he said.

“The other thing I love about journalism is it connects people,” he added. “Especially with Tapinto Greater Olean, you meet a lot of people in the community and everyone has a story.”  

Scibilia believes being able to help people is central to journalism and sees BonaResponds as just another way of doing that.

“We’re building wheelchair ramps, we’re packing food, we’re making blankets for cancer patients. If you’re going to be a good ethical journalist, you ought to help people.”

Scibilia’s journey into journalism was inspired by mentorship and a desire to effect positive change. Looking ahead, he plans to attend law school after graduation, aiming to leverage his journalistic experience to advocate for social justice. It’s that passion for helping others that is drawing him to law.

“As much as I love journalism, I have other passions. I love helping people. Where I see journalism falls short is with the follow-through. I think I could personally help more people if I was in law,” said Scibilia, who is also pursuing two minors: Law and Society, and Philosophy, Law and Politics.

This is the 10th year in a row a St. Bonaventure student has been chosen for the fellowship. The program brings top journalism students from across the country to report and produce in-depth, multimedia projects for major media outlets, including The Washington Post, NBC News and USA Today.

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure is a community committed to transforming the lives of its students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a commitment to academic excellence and lifelong civic engagement. Out of 167 regional universities in the North, St. Bonaventure was ranked #6 for value and #14 for innovation by U.S. News and World Report (2024).