Student Publications News

WKU Student Publications announced a record 11 Student Publications fellows for 2022. Ten 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 11th 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 $39,300 in stipends to students participating in the educational experiences.

The 2022 class of Student Publications summer fellows includes one freshman, two sophomores, six juniors, one senior 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 2021, 50 student staff members of the College Heights Herald, the Talisman and Cherry Creative have served in 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 2022 Student Publications fellows are:

Bailey Brush – Brush is a sophomore visual arts major from Evansville, Indiaia, and will spend 10 weeks as the Magazine Fellow at Evansville Living and Tucker Publishing. Brush is currently a designer for Cherry Creative.

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

Michael Crimmins – Crimmins is a junior journalism major from Glasgow and will spend 10 weeks as the Charles Mason Ralph Fellow at the Messenger-Inquirer in Owensboro. Crimmins currently is a reporter for the College Heights Herald.

Allie Hendricks – Hendricks is a junior photojournalism major from New Windsor, New York, and will spend 10 weeks as the Charles Mason Ralph Fellow at the St. Louis Post Dispatch. Hendricks currently works for the Talisman and the College Heights Herald.

Leah Hunter – Hunter is a sophomore journalism and Spanish double-major from Nashville and will spend 10 weeks as the Charles Mason Ralph Fellow at the Lexington Herald-Leader. Hunter currently is an editor for Talisman.

Jacob Latimer – Latimer is a junior photojournalism major from Henderson and will spend 10 weeks as the Tom Caudill Fellow at the Lexington Herald-Leader. Latimer currently is an editor for the College Heights Herald.

Genesis Malone – Malone is a junior journalism major from Louisville 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.

Jake Moore – Moore is a junior journalism major from Louisville and will spent 10 weeks as the Judy Wildman Hughes Fellow at the Bowling Green Daily News. Moore currently is content editor for the College Heights Herald.

Alaina Scott – Scott is a senior public relations major from Pewee Valley and will spend 10 weeks as the Carla and Chad Carlton Fellow at C2 Strategic Communications in Louisville. She currently is advertising manager for WKU Student Publications.

Makaio Smith – Smith is a freshman journalism major from Louisville and will spend 12 weeks as the Dr. Barbara Burch Fellow at the College Heights Herald. Smith 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 Charlotte Observer in North Carolina. He is currently is a photographer for the College Heights Herald, the Talisman and Cherry Creative.

WKU Student Publications is one of the country’s most honored student-led media programs. Collectively, it has won 41 national Pacemaker Awards, the nation’s highest honor for student media, from Associated Collegiate Press – 21 for Talisman, 19 for the College Heights Herald and 1 for Cherry Creative. Both the Talisman and the Herald are in the ACP Hall of Fame, and both are among The Pacemaker 100, the 100 most successful student publications nationwide.

For information on the Student Publications Fellowship Fund: https://wkustudentpubs.com/student-publications-fellowship-fund/

To donate: https://alumni.wku.edu/publicationsfellowshipfund

For information: Chuck Clark, director, WKU Student Publications, chuck.clark@wku.edu, 270-745-4206.