WKU News

WKU Student Publications announced nine Student Publications fellows for 2020. These students will spend at least 10 weeks working in professional organizations this summer in internships tailored to help them grow their skills.

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 specialty content agency, along with partnering professional organizations. This year’s fellowships will award a total of $32,300 in stipends to students participating in the educational experiences.

The 2020 class of Student Publications summer fellows is overall the youngest and most diverse since the program launched. The group includes two current freshmen, four sophomores, one junior and three seniors. One third of the group are people of color.

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 principal in the Charles Mason Ralph Endowment, allowing the program to grow further.

Through Summer 2019, 33 student staff members of the College Heights Herald and the Talisman have served in fellowships.

“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 2020 Student Publications fellows are:

Gabrielle Bunton

Bunton is a sophomore journalism major from Bowling Green and will spend 12 weeks as the Paul and Ellen Schuhmann Fellow at the Courier Journal in Louisville. She currently is a reporter for the College Heights Herald.

Laurel Deppen

Deppen is a junior broadcasting major from Louisville and will spend 10 weeks as the Charles Mason Ralph Fellow at The Charlotte Observer in North Carolina. Deppen currently is managing editor of the College Heights Herald.

Jack Dobbs

Dobbs is a sophomore journalism major from Franklin and will spend 10 weeks as the Tom Caudill Fellow at the Lexington Herald Leader. Dobbs currently is a reporter for the College Heights Herald.

Keilen Frazier

Frazier is a freshman photojournalism major from Louisville and will spend 10 weeks as the Charles Mason Ralph Fellow at the Messenger-Inquirer in Owensboro. Frazier currently is a photographer for the College Heights Herald.

Sam Mallon

Mallon is a sophomore photojournalism major from Silver Spring, Maryland, and will spend 10 weeks as the Charles Mason Ralph Fellow at the Lexington Herald Leader. Mallon currently is a photographer for the College Heights Herald.

Abbigail Nutter

Nutter is a sophomore journalism major from Hendersonville, Tennessee, and will spent 10 weeks as the Judy Wildman Hughes Fellow at the Bowling Green Daily News. She currently is a reporter for the College Heights Herald.

Emma Spainhoward

Spainhoward is a senior advertising major from Bowling Green and will spend 10 weeks as the Carla and Chad Carlton Fellow at C2 Strategic Communications in Louisville. She currently is design director for Cherry Creative.

Eleanor Tolbert

Tolbert is a senior journalism major from Louisville and will spend 10 weeks as the Student Publications Fellow at the St. Louis Post Dispatch. Tolbert currently is newsletters editor for the College Heights Herald.

Matthew Williams

Williams is a freshman double major in journalism and film from Russellville and will spend 12 weeks as the College Heights Herald Endowment Fellow at Louisville Public Media and the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting. Williams currently is a reporter for the College Heights Herald.

For information or to contribute to the Student Publications Fellowship Fund: Chuck Clark, director, WKU Student Publications, chuck.clark@wku.edu, 270-745-4206.