Six college students from five schools were selected to receive 2016 scholarships from the Colorado Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

The chapter awards two kinds of annual scholarships — the Helen Verba print journalism scholarship and the Sheldon Peterson broadcast journalism scholarship. The scholarships, totaling $6,500, will be sent to the students’ college financial aid offices. The students submitted applications to scholarship committee chair Leticia Steffen at Colorado State University-Pueblo, and a three-person committee of SPJ chapter board members — Doug Bell of Evergreen Newspapers, Jim Anderson of The Associated Press and Adrian Garcia of the Fort Collins Coloradoan — selected the recipients.

In addition to the scholarships, each student will receive a one-year SPJ national and Colorado chapter membership. The students will also be the chapter’s guests at the 2016 Top of the Rockies contest awards program on April 21 at the Denver Press Club.

Verba and Peterson separately donated money to the SPJ Colorado Pro chapter many years ago, and the Verba and Peterson scholarships are funded from chapter investment income.

The three students receiving the Helen Verba Scholarships are:

• Seth Bodine a sophomore at Colorado State University-Fort Collins.

Selection committee: “Seth’s essay provided a clear description of his career path. His clips stood out, with multiple authoritative sources.”

• Ashleigh Hollowell, a sophomore at Colorado State University-Pueblo.

Committee: “Ashleigh’s work shows very promising potential. She has a strong work ethic, and her writing is evolving. Her commitment to community and history is impressive.”

• Erik Petrovich, a sophomore at Coloardo State University-Fort Collins.

Committee: “Erik demonstrates a clear need and is pursuing a broad depth of knowledge. His essay was captivating and held attention. He has a strong focus on journalists serving as a watchdog on government.”

Verba was a devoted member of Sigma Delta Chi (now the Society of Professional Journalists) throughout her life. She worked at The Denver Post from 1951 until her retirement in 1978. She joined The Post in its radio-TV department, worked on the society desk and became club editor in 1971. Before joining The Post, Verba worked for a Denver advertising agency and wrote and produced radio shows for the information department at the University of Colorado.

The three Sheldon Peterson Scholarship recipients are:

• Miranda McHodgkins, a junior at Metropolitan State University-Denver.

Committee: “Miranda’s essay outlined financial need and a clear career direction. Her video stories are impressive; reporting is thorough, and delivery professional.”

• Bryce Reedy, an undergraduate at Colorado Mesa University.

Committee: “Bryce has been working hard since high school, in the broadcast and print arenas, to realize his ambition to work in sports broadcasting. His sports anchoring is poised and offers viewers insights that didn’t seem to be in the script.”

• Erin Sullivan, a junior at CU-Boulder.

Committee: “Erin’s video showed more grounded reporting ability and originality than many of the other applicants. Her essay made a compelling case that she is committed to a TV sports career.”

Peterson was as assistant general manager/public affairs director at KMGH-TV. He moved to Denver in 1938 to become a reporter for The Denver Post. He left Denver briefly to work in Chicago, but returned in 1947 to become news director at KLZ. In 1970, he joined KMGH. Peterson was the Denver Press Club’s Communicator of the Year in 1986. He was a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and Sigma Delta Chi.