Elissa Nadworny
Elissa Nadworny reports on all things college for NPR, following big stories like unprecedented enrollment declines, college affordability, the student debt crisis and workforce training. During the 2020-2021 academic year, she traveled to dozens of campuses to document what it was like to reopen during the coronavirus pandemic. Her work has won several awards including a 2020 Gracie Award for a story about student parents in college, a 2018 James Beard Award for a story about the Chinese-American population in the Mississippi Delta and a 2017 Edward R. Murrow Award for excellence in innovation.
Nadworny uses multiplatform storytelling – incorporating radio, print, comics, photojournalism, and video — to put students at the center of her coverage. Some favorite story adventures include crawling in the sewers below campus to test wastewater for the coronavirus, yearly deep-dives into the most popular high school plays and musicals and an epic search for the history behind her classroom skeleton.
Before joining NPR in 2014, Nadworny worked at Bloomberg News, reporting from the White House. A recipient of the McCormick National Security Journalism Scholarship, she spent four months reporting on U.S. international food aid for USA Today, traveling to Jordan to talk with Syrian refugees about food programs there.
Originally from Erie, Pa., Nadworny has a bachelor's degree in documentary film from Skidmore College and a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.
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Recent college graduates are facing a tough job market. Kamla Charles, career counselor at Valencia College and NPR education reporter answer questions about looking for a job in times of pandemic.
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Recent college graduates are facing a tough job market. Valencia College career counselor Kamla Charles and an NPR education reporter answer questions about looking for a job in times of pandemic.
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Colleges are grappling with how long the coronavirus disruptions will last and what the fall semester will look like. The big question: With so many changes, will students still enroll?
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School districts are going to great lengths to keep students and families engaged and connected. But when it's not possible to get all online, they're turning back to an earlier device: the telephone.
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We spoke to students about to graduate into the workforce and posed their questions and anxieties to career counselors. Some advice: Be flexible, make it personal, network and look for bright spots.
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One of the biggest challenges in moving school online has been how to offer services for students with disabilities. But educators are finding creative ways to connect.
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Millions of U.S. educators are scrambling to replicate the functions of school without an actual school building. One principal's advice is to just "focus on loving our kids."
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More than a dozen colleges have dropped testing requirements for admission, with one school citing "unprecedented obstacles and disruptions" due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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For many college students, walking across the stage isn't just a celebration, it's a recognition of years of hard work, and often sacrifices from their families. What happens when it's cancelled?
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About 14% of U.S. public school students receive special education services. And as schools transition from the classroom to the computer, many of those students could get left behind.
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Amid widespread public school and higher education closures, the Senate bill sets money aside for remote learning and gives Education Secretary Betsy DeVos new power.
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Those who have defaulted on their federal student loans will get a temporary reprieve from having their wages, Social Security benefits and tax refunds garnished by the federal government.