“Dream. Dare. Do” is the slogan of the Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Conference, and the motto junior Audrey Peltier will be adopting as Minnesota’s 2026 delegate. In May, Peltier was named Minnesota’s Free Spirit Scholar, earning her a $1,000 college scholarship and a ticket to the conference’s five-day summer program.

A large part of her journalism career has been centered around photography.
“I am typically around the school a lot with my camera, whether it’s a sports event or an assembly,” she said. “I’m really involved with sports photography, so I think that plays a big role in why I continue [as a journalist].”

Peltier has been expanding those camera skills for a while. In the summer of 2025, she traveled to New York City to participate in a photography program for college credit at New York University.

“I got to meet a lot of cool people from all over the country, and even outside the country,” she said.

In the future, she hopes to pursue a career in sports media or journalism and hopes to take advantage of the conference to grow her skill set: “I’m hoping to … learn more about what [journalism] would look like outside of high school, and possible opportunities for college,” she said.

“I’m interested in meeting a bunch of different reporters and finding more about what I could possibly do in college.”

Peltier discovered an interest in multimedia journalism as a staff writer in ninth-grade, joining the RubicOnline staff as a photojournalist but evolving that first year into a social media assistant manager, a role she held this year. Next year Peltier is the community engagement manager examining Rubicon coverage and analytics, and providing outreach to readers.

The Free Spirit program is all expenses paid and takes place in Washington, D.C., from June 21-26, giving 51 high school juniors, one from each state, the opportunity to engage with journalists other across the country.

Adviser Kathryn Campbell described Peltier as “someone who transforms every space she occupies with kindness, ambition, and curiosity. Audrey makes instant friends of strangers, strives to innovate and elevate. Like the news industry she loves, she seeks to adapt, just as Al Neuharth did.”

USA Today founder Allen Neuharth designed the conference to focus heavily on First Amendment rights, something that captured Peltier’s attention when applying.

Peltier is setting goals for herself and the Rubicon in preparation for the program. “I’m hoping to bring insight about our own publications,” she said.

In her application, Peltier reflected on her experiences with story challenges and censorship.

Peltier will act as the fourth Minnesota Free Spirit Scholar from The Rubicon, following Sonia Kharbanda 25’, Orion Kim 23’ and Noor Qureishy 16’.