Toms River North Alum’s Bravery Earns Her Prestigious Nobel Peace Prize Nomination

It's not every day you see someone from our community get nominated for such a prestigious award, so when it happens, the news must be spread! 

A Toms River North Alum, Maria Ressa, has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize (thanks to Toms River Regional Schools for sharing the exciting news with us!).

The nominee, Maria Ressa, is a co-founder and CEO of Rappler, which reports on important topics, like politics (in America and the Philippines), Covid-19, and business. But before that, the press release noted that Ressa worked at CNN in Asia, and her astounding acts of bravery there are what earned her this prestigious nomination.

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Check out this excerpt from the press release that details, why Norwegian labor lead Jonas Gahr Støre, nominated her:

“Prior to founding Rappler in 2012,” Støre said, “[Ressa] worked for CNN in Asia, where she specifically reports on terrorist networks. In recent years, Ressa has been harassed, persecuted, and arrested numerous times - due to her coverage of corruption … Ressa has for years lived with death threats and harassment on social media. She is thus both a symbol and a representative of thousands of journalists around the world.”

That quote is just awe-inspiring, right? How incredible is it to know we have a hero who willing to put her security at risk to get the facts out, who grew up in our own backyard? Ressa gave credit to the role that Toms River North had in her life in the press release, saying:

“Toms River North is my roots,” Ressa said. “It was such a pivotal time in my life. I learned to be comfortable with who I was.”

Congratulations on your nomination, Maria Ressa. Thank you for your bravery, and for serving as a reminder that you can do anything you set your mind to.

The 2021 Nobel Prize Award ceremony will take place in October.

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