Paulette Cannon Daily Aztec Scholarship & Endowment

Hundreds of professional reporters, broadcasters, public affairs specialists, and other word-centered professionals logged their very first journalistic keystrokes at The Daily Aztec, San Diego State University’s school’s student-run newspaper, which launched in 1960. Among them Paulette Cannon Armstrong, an intrepid young reporter at The Santa Maria Times whose life was cut tragically short in 2002 by scleroderma, a chronic autoimmune disease.

Those who remember Paulette from their Daily Aztec days, including Jennifer Stone and Joshua Suchon, are ensuring her legacy continues through the creation of the Paulette Cannon Endowed Scholarship at SDSU.

“Paulette’s life story was just a few paragraphs in, and her passing has always felt like an injustice because she was brimming with promise, said Ms. Stone. “At The Daily Aztec, Paulette transformed from a shy writer to a bolder truth teller, willing to sit through interminable meetings to capture one moment of critical news. We want to honor Paulette’s young life by passing the keyboard to student journalists who, like her, feel a duty to provide the public with true, accurate and objective information.”

“Paulette was the epitome of how student journalism can elevate a campus community and how the bonds formed in a newsroom can elevate an individual’s self-confidence,” said Mr. Suchon. “Paulette would be the first to admit she was shy. She found a home inside The Daily Aztec office, made friends who nicknamed her “Boom Boom,” learned the craft of journalism, and her byline routinely was displayed on the front page reporting on the biggest stories of the day. She was taken from us far too soon, before she had the chance to enrich more lives with her sweet personality and tenacious (yet fair) reporting. I’m thrilled we can keep her memory alive with this scholarship.

The Paulette Cannon Endowed Scholarship will provide financial support to deserving students who are committed to journalistic standards and ethics as stated in the preamble to the Code of Ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists: “The duty of the journalist is to further those ends by seeking truth and providing a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues. Conscientious journalists from all media and specialties strive to serve the public with thoroughness and honesty.”