Johanna Huckeba (2014)

JMPS alumna wins journalism awards and founds non-profit

June 9, 2012

Since graduating from JMPS in 2014, alumna Johanna “Jojo” Huckeba has been busy reporting for prestigious news outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, publishing stories and photos from around the world, and winning awards.

As a student at JMPS, Huckeba took photos for the school yearbook. In 2014, she received a scholarship to Arizona State University’s Cronkite School of Journalism, which was ranked the fourth best journalism school in the country.

During her time at ASU, Huckeba worked for ASU's 100-year-old student paper, The State Press. This is where she “really fell in love with journalism.” Later, she went on to manage a group of reporters at The State Press.

A student reporting trip to Puerto Rico gave Huckeba the chance to report firsthand on the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Her article about an ASU professor’s unique method of raising awareness about the disaster earned Huckeba an Arizona State Press Club Award.

She also went on a 10-day reporting trip to Israel, producing work about women and their experiences in Jerusalem.

When she was a journalism student, Huckeba worked at The Wall Street Journal as an intern, where she edited photos from around the globe. She also worked at The Arizona Republic and the St. Louis Post Dispatch, founded by Joseph Pulitzer, who also helped establish the Pulitzer Prize.

Huckeba describes journalism as having given her an education in politics, law, and the human experience. It was a “crash course in how to be a human in this world,” she says. “I highly recommend journalism for anyone who wants to learn what’s out there."

She also says she believes “in journalism as an industry," especially in an era of "everyone mistrusting everyone."

In 2018, Huckeba graduated from ASU, summa cum laude.

It’s no surprise that Huckeba has done so much in a short post-JMPS timespan. When she was at JMPS, Huckeba was involved in plays, musicals, Academic Decathlon, and sports (basketball, volleyball, softball, track, soccer). In her capacity as Secretary of Exterior, she coordinated events such as volunteering at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walk at Tempe Town Lake.

After her time at the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Huckeba felt a pull to return to Phoenix, which feels like home to her. This is in part because of the JMPS community that remains a vibrant source of connection.

“Other alumni feel like family,” Huckeba says. “Nothing about life is perfect, but I’m extremely grateful for the community [the school] continues to give me.”

She also says that “going to James Madison feels like growing up in a small town, and I wouldn’t change it for the world."

One staff member she has especially fond memories of is the now-retired Mr. Ferris, who introduced her to radio and NPR with his Radio Fridays. (In college Huckeba also had her own radio show.)

Huckeba fondly remembers the Shuttle Mission, an event which Mr. Ferris and his 8^th grade students worked on each year.

“He worked so hard to give us a special experience,” Huckeba says. She remembers a lot of other teachers going above and beyond like this.

Huckeba is now considering a Master’s degree in Social Work from ASU, which will allow her to continue making a positive impact in the world.

For some time, she wanted to be a war correspondent, but given the lack of such job opportunities in journalism today, she felt it wasn't realistic. Instead, she found herself covering NFL games as a cub reporter. “It was cool, but I knew it wasn’t going to do it for me,” she says.

Currently Huckeba works in the Teen Center at the Boys & Girls Club, where she works mainly with teenage boys. Relating to them is much easier through sports, and for this she is grateful for her JMPS sports experience.

“Because it was a small school, you really got to do everything. My peers in college who went to large schools usually did one thing, if that. I can relate to musical theater nerds, and I can relate to [kids] through basketball.”

Huckeba has also teamed up with another alumna, Emily Vandecruze (2015) to co-found a non-profit, The Wildflower Society, which won a $10,000 grant from Victoria’s Secret.

“I wanted to bring women together to create change and find community,” Huckeba says.

Their flagship event was in February 2020. Huckeba has partnered with JMPS alumni for Wildflower Society events, such as former classmate Celine Kwan, who was a leader at an ASU club, and even her former homeroom teacher, Rachel Curtis.

You can see more of Huckeba’s published work here: https://muckrack.com/johanna-huckeba/articles.

She also works as a freelance photographer. Check out her work at JohannaHuckeba.com.