Rylie Oswald (left) and Elizabeth Walters (right) pictured above. 

Rylie Oswald and Elizabeth Walters placed second in the Hearst Explanatory Competition for their story, Health risks for rural pregnancies grow as options for care disappear.” Oswald will graduate from KU this spring and Walters, a 2024 JMC graduate, also collaborated on a story with two University of Missouri students. That story was published Aug. 25 in the Columbia Missourian and looked at maternity care issues in Kansas and Missouri.

“I was really surprised and excited,” Oswald said about placing second in the competition. “After all the work we put in, Elizabeth and I worked so hard on that story, it was really great to see that we were recognized for it.”

Lecturer Gerri Berendzen (top left), Program Director & Senior Digital Media Trainer Heather Lawrenz (top right), Career and Outreach Coordinator Steve Rottinghaus (bottom left) and Full Professor Teri Finneman (bottom right) are pictured with Dean Ann M. Brill last Friday. 

JMC School hands out end-of-the-year awards: Dean Ann M. Brill announced the recipients of four awards designated for JMC School faculty and staff at last Friday’s end-of-the-year faculty and staff meeting. A brief description of each award and its recipient is below:

Ann and Jack Bowling Family Excellence in Teaching Award: Established in 2023 to honor faculty members making outstanding contributions to students’ education, careers and lives. 2025 recipient: Lecturer Gerri Berendzen

John Katich Award for Creativity: Awarded to a faculty member in the School who has demonstrated creativity in teaching, research, service or a combination of these areas. 2025 recipient: Program Director & Senior Digital Media Trainer Heather Lawrenz

Kathleen Dole-Airoldi Research Achievement Award: Established in 2024 to recognize a full-time faculty member who has made significant contributions to the field of journalism and mass communications through their research or creative work. 2025 recipient: Full Professor Teri Finneman

Outstanding Staff Award: Established in 2024 to honor a JMC or JMC-affiliated full-time staff member who has made significant contributions to the School. 2025 recipient: Career and Outreach Coordinator Steve Rottinghaus

JMC faculty and staff honored for at Employee Recognition Ceremony: Ten JMC School employees were honored in the 51st Annual Employee Recognition Ceremony last week for reaching a work milestone. The honorees are as follows:

5 years: Christopher Etheridge, Melissa Greene-Blye, Alex Treaster, Rebekka Schlichting

10 Years: Heather Lawrenz, Hong Tien Vu, Steve Rottinghaus

25 Years: Ann M. Brill

30 years: Kim Bruns

35 years: Carol Holstead

Christopher Etheridge, Melissa Greene-Blye and Rebekka Schlichting are pictured at the Employee Recognition Ceremony last week. | Photo courtesy of Christopher Etheridge. 

Students in JMC 640 are pictured before their final presentation. | Photo courtesy of Kerry Navinskey.

Students from Assistant Professor Judy Watts's JMC 640 Campaigns class presented their campaign ideas to the co-owners of The Dub, Monica Brady and Rachel Glenn on May 6. Ideas included establishing a voice for The Dub's social media accounts, encouraging customer reviews, fostering community around women's sports, and more. The Dub is the first dedicated women's sports bar in Missouri and will open summer 2025. 

JMC student Jordan Ziegler received the 2025 Brian Hanni Broadcaster of the Year award from KJHK. Hanni, the namesake for the KJHK Sports Broadcaster of the Year, is a former KJHK student broadcaster and current voice of the Kansas Jayhawks.

National sports summit on June 30: JMC students are welcome to participate in the National Sports Media Association Convergence Summit on Monday, June 30 at Grandover Resort in Greensboro, North Carolina, or virtually. The event is 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. In-person attendees are encouraged to bring their demo real or clips. The cost is $81.88 for the in-person portion of the summit and $39.99 for the virtual portion. For more information, contact dgoren@nationalsportsmedia.org or call 336-655-2976.

Seniors: Share your Graduation photos with us on Instagram by tagging @kujschool to be featured on our story. Follow our senior spotlight series on Instagram. 

Associate Professor Genelle Belmas attended the annual Media and the Law conference in Kansas City on May 8-9. Topics discussed included disinformation, regulation of artificial intelligence, libel developments, and legal ethics. 

Professor Hyunjin Seo’s project on career readiness and technology education for justice-impacted women has received a $1.5 million grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Through this grant project, Seo’s team will partner with public libraries and workforce centers in Kansas City to support economic mobility among marginalized women. 

Cheers to Careers podcasts: JMC alums Abby Stuke, marketing and events director at the Lenexa Chamber of Commerce; Jennifer Sykes, communications director at Health Forward Foundation; and Allie Raymond, director of organic social for the Los Angeles Chargers, were recent guests.

Internship and student jobs

Job opportunities

Gage Brock is account director at Cognite.

Ashley Brunhoeber is founder of Brunhoeber Consulting.

Ryan Greene is Director of Athlete and Artist Partnerships at Collectors.

Anthony Maite is an account executive at Comcast Advertising.

Savanna Smith is a journalist at PBS KVIE.

Calendar

William Allen White School of Journalism & Mass Communications
journalism.ku.edu

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