Washington, DC (May 24, 2018) – PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs (@reportinglabs) will honor the memory and legacy of pioneering journalist and PBS NewsHour co-anchor and managing editor Gwen Ifill by supporting three talented aspiring young female reporters with summer fellowships at their local PBS stations: Mary Williams at CET in Cincinnati, OH; Angeline Abrera at Houston Public Media; and Khue Tran at KLRU in Austin, Texas. The fellowships are made possible by funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Mary Williams of Hughes STEM High School is the Gwen Ifill Legacy Fellow at local PBS station CET in Cincinnati
Mary Williams started with Student Reporting Labs in 2015 as a sophomore at Hughes STEM High School in Cincinnati.
“It has been a pleasure to watch Mary blossom in the Student Reporting Labs class over the past three years,” said Mary’s teacher Melissa Sherman. “Where she was once a very shy and quiet student standing back away from the camera, she is now a student constantly stepping outside her comfort zone, accepting new challenges and asking for leadership roles when producing stories…SRL has given her the desire to pursue her passion for broadcast journalism just as Gwen once pursued hers.”
Mary will work closely with CET’s production team and digital media group, experiencing all aspects of producing for a public media station.
“We’re delighted to work with one of the very talented students from our local PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Lab,” said CET’s General Manager David Fogarty. “The students, and Mary in particular, have already created impressive work. Now our team will be able to work with her more closely in a hands-on environment, both at our studio and in the field. It’s a wonderful opportunity for both of us.”
Angeline Abrera of Jersey Village High School is the Gwen Ifill Legacy Fellow at local PBS station Houston Public Media
Angeline Abrera graduated from Jersey Village High School outside of Houston and will be attending the University of Houston in the fall. She will be working with Houston Public Media Producer Tomeka Weatherspoon on a documentary examining Houston’s food culture and will also produce digital content for the station.
“We’re honored to partner with PBS NewsHour in helping to develop the next generation of media journalists,” said Don Geraci, Executive Producer at Houston Public Media. “In a crowded and sometimes confusing media landscape, projects like Student Reporting Labs and the Gwen Ifill Fellowship help talented young people find solid footing and direction. We hope to provide that for Angeline.”
Khue Tran is a graduating senior from Pflugerville High School, where she produced a story about mentoring that aired nationally on PBS as part of American Graduate Day. She also produced a documentary about her parents, both of whom are first-generation Americans.
Khue Tran of Pflugerville High School is the Gwen Ifill Legacy Fellow at local PBS station KLRU in Austin, Texas
“I wish every teacher could have a student like Khue,” said Khue’s teacher David Robb. “She is enthusiastic, empathetic and extremely motivated. Her natural curiosity and passion for current events serve her well as a journalist.”
The summer fellowships were created in honor of award-winning anchor, reporter, and author Gwen Ifill, the former PBS NewsHour co-anchor and managing editor and Washington Week moderator and managing editor, who died in November 2016 after complications from endometrial cancer. Gwen became one of the nation’s most respected political journalists: the first African-American woman to moderate a vice-presidential debate and the first to host a major weekly political-affairs program. After Ifill became the co-anchor of the PBS NewsHour, she said she hoped little girls would watch her and think it “perfectly normal” to occupy an anchor’s desk someday.
Last summer, Student Reporting Labs created the Gwen Ifill Legacy Fellowship at stations NJTV and PBS SoCal.
About Student Reporting Labs
Student Reporting Labs provides middle and high schools with a unique video journalism curriculum, teacher professional development, mentorship and relationships with local public media stations to produce original stories that explore how critical national issues impact communities around the country. Visit PBS NewsHour’s Student Reporting Labs on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Major support is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, American Graduate: Getting to Work, the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health Science Education Partnership Award and the MacArthur Foundation.
About CET
CET is Greater Cincinnati’s leading provider of education and enrichment in both living rooms and classrooms, reaching more than 2 million residents; 470,000 students and 37,000 teachers. CET, the first licensed educational television station in the nation, provides multichannel broadcast and cable services, including CET Arts, the first local 24-hour arts and cultural programming channel in the country. For more information about CET, CET Arts or CET Create, visit www.CETconnect.org. CET is a service of Public Media Connect (PMC), a regional public media partnership with ThinkTV, Dayton, serving the more than 3 million people in the Greater Cincinnati and Dayton communities.
About KLRU
KLRU-TV, Austin PBS is dedicated to telling stories that entertain, inspire and change our lives. KLRU highlights what makes Austin unique—whether music, arts or public issues —by creating and distributing award-winning original content. KLRU produces several series including Austin City Limits, Arts In Context, Central Texas Gardener, Decibel and Overheard with Evan Smith. As a nonprofit educational organization, KLRU also prepares children to succeed in school and creates lifelong learning opportunities for all. Find out more at KLRU.org.
About Houston Public Media
Focused on delivering high quality local, regional and national content in the areas of news and information, arts and culture, and education, Houston Public Media utilizes its broadcast and online outlets to provide audiences with unprecedented access to the content that is meaningful to them – on air, online, at home and everywhere they go. Houston Public Media is built on 60 years of success in public radio and television, including TV 8’s distinction as the nation’s first educational public television station. The organization is a community service of the University of Houston.
About PBS NewsHour
PBS NewsHour is seen by over four million weekly viewers and is also available online, via public radio in select markets, and via podcast. PBS NewsHour is a production of NewsHour Productions LLC, a wholly-owned nonprofit subsidiary of WETA Washington, D.C., in association with WNET in New York. More information on PBS NewsHour is available at pbs.org/newshour. On social media, visit NewsHour on Facebook or follow @NewsHour on Twitter.
Media Contacts
Leah Clapman, Managing Editor, Student Reporting Labs
Elis Estrada, Director, Student Reporting Labs
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