Abisola Dahunsi immigrated to the US from Nigeria who said that journalism became her way of bridging the information gap between cultures. She earned a bachelor's degree in journalism and emerging media from Kennesaw State University in 2024 and was a news intern with Georgia Public Broadcasting in the spring and summer of 2025. She also previously was a public relations intern with Woodstock (Georgia) Lifestyle Magazine and a reporting intern for the Marietta Daily Journal, also in Georgia. Abisola said that earning a master’s degree at UIS holds deep personal meaning. “It would makr a defining milestone in my family’s story and solidify my place as a first-generation Nigerian immigrant pursuing graduate education in the United States. I carry not just my own ambitions but also the dreams of those who made it possible for me to be here.” Abisola said she wants to return to Nigeria and work where journalism, gender and public policy intersect, helping amplify women’s voices and push for policies that open access to education and opportunity. “This scholarship would bring me one step closer to making that a reality,” she said. This semester, Abisola will be an intern with Illinois Public Media.
Joshua Hightower earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communications, with a concentration in broadcast news, from the University of South Florida in spring 2025. While attending the Tampa school, he was a news intern with WMNF radio, a staff writer for The Oracle student newspaper, a media intern with Tampa Bay Arts and Education Network, and a digital engagement specialist with the university’s Digital Engagement Center. Joshua said that while growing up in the Liberty City neighborhood of Miami, he watched his community lose resources, face gentrification, and endure the effects of corrupt leadership. “What made these problems worse was the lack of reporting on them,” he said. “Seeing how little attention these issues received is what motivated me to pursue journalism.” Joshua said his long-term goal is to become an investigative journalist and eventually return to his hometown to cover the issues that matter to the people who raised him. Joshau will be an intern with WCIA-TV during the next semester.
Evan Holden of St. Louis said that while he graduated from the best public school in the state of Missouri, the district barely had money for a yearbook and none for a school newspaper. Yet he knew he wanted to be a journalist and graduated with honors from the University of Missouri with degrees in journalism and history. While at Mizzou, Evan was a reporter for KBIA, a National Public Radio station in Columbia; and a reporter for the Columbia Missourian, the student-staffed digital-first community newsroom. Evan also has been a reporter at NPR Illinois while attending UIS. The experience at KBIA was transformative. “Learning how radio worked and being able to literally record the voices of people while having the freedom to pitch and pursue stories that would not work in any other newsroom intrigued me,” Evan said. After graduating from UIS, Evan plans to continue working for an NPR affiliate as an education and politics reporter. His dream job would be working on a podcast like KCUR’s People’s History of Kansas City, so he can use both his history and journalism degrees, Evan said. Evan will be an intern for WGLT/WCBU, the NPR affiliate serving Bloomington-Normal and Peoria.
Jack O’Connor graduated from the University of Minnesota in May with degrees in journalism and political science. While at Minnesota, Jack was busy! He was a city desk editor and reporter with the campus newspaper, The Minnesota Daily. He was a legislative reporting intern for Forum News Service in St. Paul, a fellow for Iowa Capital Dispatch in Des Moines, an intern with the Star Tribune in Minneapolis, and a video editor and script writer for LeftMiddleRight online. “It’s no secret journalism job prospects are weak,” Jack said. “But for nearly a decade, I’ve known that I wanted to pursue journalism. I don’t want to be a spokesperson, I want to be a journalist.” He also said that eventually being adjunct journalism professor is appealing. “I’m willing to cover any beat, but politics and education are my top choices. After writing for a decade or two, I’d eventually like to become an editor,” he said. Jack will be an intern for the Chicago Tribune during the next semester.
Jenna Schweikert said she set a goal of becoming a professional journalist about a year after joining her high school newspaper. She majored in journalism and political science at Knox College in Galesburg, where on her first day working for The Knox Student newspaper, reality hit. “I found out that after the pandemic had halted printing, the website crashed beyond repair and the advisor resigned. But we as a staff persevered, building a news site and debuting a biannual magazine.” She later studied abroad in Ireland, where she was an intern at a local newspaper. During her senior year at Knox, she was an intern with Tri States Public Radio in Macomb. “My primary interest has remained with reporting for print news,” Jenna said, “although I appreciate my experience as an editor with The Knox Student and as a Tri States Public Radio intern. Despite all this, I know I still have much to learn, and that’s I applied for this program.” Jenna will be an intern next semester with Capitol News Illinois.