Why I Support Young Journalists

By Matthew Bovee

When people ask me why I started a scholarship for journalism students, I tell them about Camp La Junta.

The Origin Story

I was a quiet kid growing up in Kerrville, Texas. The Texas Hill Country was my backyard—beautiful but small. My parents enrolled me in Camp La Junta for the summer of 1999, hoping I’d make friends and gain some independence.

What I gained was much more than that. I gained a purpose.

Thomas “Tommy” Redhorse was my counselor that summer. He was 25 years old, a graduate student in journalism at the University of Texas, and a member of the Cherokee Nation. He had this incredible ability to make a group of 12-year-old boys take writing seriously.

What Tommy Taught Me

Tommy taught me that journalism isn’t just a career—it’s a calling. At Camp La Junta, he showed me that the best journalists aren’t the ones who want to be famous. They’re the ones who can’t look away from injustice.

“Every person has a story worth telling,” Tommy would say. “And the powerful depend on the silence of the ordinary.”

That quote became my North Star. It’s why I became an investigative journalist. It’s why I’ve spent my career exposing corruption, documenting institutional abuse, and holding powerful people accountable.

Why Scholarships Matter

The journalism industry is struggling. Newsrooms are shrinking, and the business models that once funded investigative reporting are collapsing. Young people who want to become journalists face more obstacles than ever.

But we need investigative journalism now more than ever. The forces that Tommy Redhorse warned us about—concentrated power, institutional corruption, the manipulation of information—they’re only getting stronger.

That’s why the Thomas Redhorse Memorial Scholarship matters. It sends young people to college to become the journalists we need. It ensures that the next generation has the skills and training to tell the stories that powerful people want buried.

My Promise

When I established the Thomas Redhorse Memorial Scholarship at Camp La Junta in 2015, I made a promise to Tommy. I promised that his legacy would live on through the young people we support.

Every scholarship recipient carries Tommy’s message forward. They go into newsrooms, digital publications, and independent outlets. They ask the hard questions. They refuse to look away.

That’s what Tommy would have wanted. That’s what Camp La Junta taught me.

The Thomas Redhorse Memorial Scholarship supports young journalists who demonstrate financial need and a commitment to truth-telling. Learn more about applying for the scholarship at Camp La Junta.