Dream. Dare. Do. A motto bestowed upon 102 high school seniors every year in Washington, D.C.

The Al Neuharth Free Spirit Scholarship and Journalism Conference, honoring USA TODAY founder Al Neuharth, annually awards college scholarships to 102 high school seniors. A male and female from each state and the District of Columbia are chosen, each for their talent, interest in journalism, and characteristics of a “free spirit.” The chosen students travel to the Newseum in Washington, D.C. in March to receive their awards and participate in a conference, delving them into depths of the American journalism world they never realized existed.

Yet, the students chosen for the 2008 awards and trip chose to collaborate more than any other year before them, working on projects cooperatively soon after the trip’s end. The future of journalism was realized in 102 individuals, and many of them today collaborate from their college campuses on the Free Spirt Network, exclusively for 2008 Free Spirit award recipients. Bios for each member can be found here.

Modeled after the Washington Post Writer’s Group, the Free Spirit Network is a collaboration of multimedia works, created by the 2008 Al Neuharth Free Spirits – acclaimed student journalists across the United States.