Lincoln University's Madison Morgan named the winner of the 2026 Trudy Haynes Scholarship

CBS Philadelphia is proud to award the annual $10,000 Trudy Haynes Scholarship, given in partnership with the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists. This year's winner is a rising junior at Lincoln University: Madison Morgan, a straight-A communications major.

We visited Madison on campus to deliver the good news, and she was so stunned that she was speechless.

But when she called her mom, who had no idea Madison had applied for the award, the tears started flowing.

This scholarship is named for Trudy Haynes, who was hired by the station that is now CBS Philadelphia in 1965, as Philadelphia's first Black TV journalist.

In her application essay, Madison shared why Haynes is one of her inspirations.

"As a pioneer in local news, she understood that storytelling is about more than delivering information. It's about giving people a voice and making them feel seen. ... That idea inspires me because I believe storytelling is most powerful when it reflects real people and real emotion," she wrote.

Madison is also minoring in psychology and runs track and field. In her spare time, Madison is working on being a content creator.

Her professor Trejha Whitfield says she couldn't think of a student more deserving than Madison. Congratulations! Madison told us the check will cover tuition expenses.