The Tennessean celebrates inaugural class of its Journalism Academy for standout students

Cassandra Stephenson, Nashville Tennessean
·2 min read

The Tennessean last week celebrated the conclusion of its inaugural Journalism Academy program for Tennessee college students.

The Nashville staff hosted 13 juniors and seniors from universities throughout the state on Jan. 9-11 for training in beat coverage, reporting techniques, visual journalism and digital production. Each student had opportunities to network with each other and Tennessean journalists, including through one-on-one mentorship sessions with award-winning reporters.

Each participating college or university selected promising journalism or communications students who expressed interest in pursuing journalism careers following graduation.

The 10 participating schools spanned all three grand divisions: Tennessee State University, Lipscomb University, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Austin Peay State University, Vanderbilt University, the University of Memphis, Middle Tennessee State University, East Tennessee State University, Belmont University and Trevecca Nazarene University.

The Tennessean from Jan. 9-11, 2024, hosted 13 college students for an inaugural Journalism Academy. From left to right, the students who attended were Stevie Paige from the University of Memphis, Garrett Bland from Tennessee State University, Symone Maxwell from University of Memphis, Marisa Sardonia from East Tennessee State University, Braden Simmons from Belmont University, Ella Grey MacNicoll from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Jennifer Lindahl from Austin Peay State University, Charlotte Mauger from Vanderbilt University, Riley Haltom from the UT Knoxville, Alayna Simons from Trevecca Nazarene University, Hannah Cron from Lipscomb University, Shamani Salahuddin from Middle Tennessee State University and Destiny Mizell from MTSU.

Members of the Tennessean Journalism Academy's inaugural class included:

  • Garrett Bland, TSU mass communications major with a concentration in journalism (expected graduation in May 2025)

  • Hannah Cron, Lipscomb journalism and new media major (expected graduation in May 2024)

  • Riley Haltom, UT Knoxville journalism and electronic media major (expected graduation in May 2025)

  • Jennifer Lindahl, APSU journalism major (expected graduation in May 2024)

  • Ella "Grey" MacNicoll, UT Knoxville journalism and media major (expected graduation in May 2025)

  • Charlotte Mauger, Vanderbilt public policy studies and French major (expected graduation in May 2024)

  • Symone Maxwell, University of Memphis broadcast journalism major (expected graduation in May 2024)

  • Destiny Mizell, MTSU journalism major (expected graduation in May 2024)

  • Stevie Paige, University of Memphis journalism major (expected graduation in May 2024)

  • Shamani Salahuddin, MTSU journalism major (expected graduation in May 2024)

  • Marisa Sardonia, ETSU media and communication major (expected graduation in 2024)

  • Braden Simmons, Belmont political science and journalism major (expected graduation in May 2025)

  • Alayna Simons, Trevecca multimedia journalism major (expected graduation in May 2025)

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: The Tennessean celebrates inaugural class of college Journalism Academy