WKU News

WKU Student Publications today announces a class of 10 Student Publications fellows for Summer 2023. Nine of the students will spend at least 10 weeks working in professional organizations this summer in internships tailored to help them grow their skills, and the 10th will cover news on the WKU campus.

The fellowships are funded entirely through the generosity of alumni and friends of the College Heights Herald, Talisman magazine, Student Publications Advertising and the Cherry Creative branded-content studio, along with partnering professional organizations. This year’s fellowships will award a total of $50,300 in stipends to students participating in the educational experiences.

The 2023 class of Student Publications summer fellows includes one sophomore, six juniors, two seniors and one post-baccalaureate student.

The program launched in 2012 with a single fellowship at the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer. It was funded with proceeds from an endowment created by the late Charles Mason Ralph, a Herald alumnus and Owensboro native who bequeathed a portion of his estate to the Herald. The program has grown through donations to the Student Publications Fellowship Fund, created in 2014, and through other fellowship funds created by alumni and friends of the Herald and the Talisman, our flagship publications. In 2015, a confidential gift of $125,000 more than doubled the principle in the Charles Mason Ralph Endowment, allowing the program to grow further.

Through Summer 2022, 60 student staff members of the College Heights Herald, the Talisman and Cherry Creative have completed Student Publications fellowships at professional organizations.

“Our fellowship program is one of the most rewarding things we do for our students,” said Chuck Clark, director of WKU Student Publications. “Because we try to match these fellowships to our students’ goals and tailor them to skills they want to develop, these experiences have a huge impact on the students.

“We’re grateful to our alumni and friends, and to our professional partners, for making these fellowships possible.”

The 2023 Student Publications fellows are:

Emma Bayens – Bayens is a junior photojournalism major from Louisville, and will spend 10 weeks as the Magazine Fellow at Evansville Living and Tucker Publishing in Indiana. Bayens is currently photo director for Cherry Creative.

Madison Carter – Carter is a senior journalism major from Shepherdsville and will spend 10 weeks as the Tom Caudill Fellow at the Lexington Herald-Leader. Carter currently is a reporter for the College Heights Herald.

Leah Hunter – Hunter is a junior journalism and Spanish double-major from Nashville and will spend 12 weeks as the Paul and Ellen Schuhmann Fellow at The Courier Journal in Louisville. Hunter currently is executive editor for Talisman.

Rhiannon Johnston – Johnston is a junior advertising major from Louisville and will spend 10 weeks as the Carla and Chad Carlton Fellow at C2 Strategic Communications in Louisville. Johnston currently is a videographer for Cherry Creative.

Izzy Lanuza – Lanuza is a junior public relations major from Signal Mountain, Tennessee, and will spent 10 weeks as the Judy Wildman Hughes Fellow at the Bowling Green Daily News. Lanuza currently is a sports reporter for the College Heights Herald.

Sean McInnis – McInnis is a sophomore photojournalism major from Louisville and will spend 10 weeks as the Charles Mason Ralph Fellow at The Charlotte Observer in North Carolina. McInnis currently is a photographer for the College Heights Herald and the Talisman.

Debra Murray – Murray is a junior journalism major from Louisville and will spend 12 weeks as the College Heights Herald Endowment Fellow at Louisville Public Media and the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting. Murray currently is editor-in-chief for the College Heights Herald.

Damon Stone – Stone is a senior journalism major from Scottsville and will spend 10 weeks as the Charles Mason Ralph Fellow at the Messenger-Inquirer in Owensboro. Stone currently is a reporter for the College Heights Herald.

Arthur Trickett-Wile – Trickett-Wile  is a post-baccalaureate photojournalism major from San Antonio, Texas, and will spend 10 weeks as the Charles Mason Ralph Fellow at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in Missouri. He currently is a photographer for the College Heights Herald.

Alexandria Anderson – Anderson is a sophomore biology and health sciences major from Indian Mound, Tennessee, and will spend 12 weeks as the Dr. Barbara Burch Fellow at the College Heights Herald. Anderson currently is a content editor for the College Heights Herald and will serve as editor-in-chief for Fall 2023.