2020-2021 Recipients
Below is a listing of the Headliners Foundation’s 2020-2021 scholarship recipients. Click here for the Foundation’s media release announcing this year's outstanding student journalists.
Jack Keever Scholar
Ariana Arredondo is a rising junior at the University of Texas at Austin and is serving as managing editor of The Daily Texan for summer 2021. Arredondo previously worked as associate managing editor, Life and Arts editor and co-internal relations director for Diversity and Inclusion. In summer 2020 she worked as an editorial intern writing features for Austin Woman Magazine. She hopes to continue working toward diversifying the Texan’s coverage and creating a safe space for staffers of color and LGBTQ+ staffers. She will graduate in spring 2023 with a bachelor's degree in journalism and a minor in U.S. Latin America and Latino Media Studies.
Stuart Long Memorial Scholar
Lexi Barlow is a junior at Texas Wesleyan University studying political science and mass communication. She has worked on several multimedia projects for Texas Wesleyan’s newspaper, The Rambler, addressing critical issues relating to undergraduate students. Aside from the multimedia projects, she enjoys writing daily stories for The Rambler and uses the opportunities she has with her beats to improve her photography skills. She has also received awards from The Society of Professional Journalists (Fort Worth Chapter) and The Washington Media Scholars Foundation. She will graduate in the spring of 2022 and hopes to pursue a law degree.
George moore Scholar
Spencer Buckner is a senior at the University of Texas at Austin studying Plan II Honors and history. He was the editor-in-chief of The Daily Texan during the 2019-2020 school year, and worked closely with campus activists and organizers to use the Texan’s platform to fight against sexual misconduct on campus and gentrification efforts, as well as pursuing safe and equitable COVID-19 response from the University at the start of the pandemic. Prior to becoming editor-in-chief, Buckner worked at the Texan as a columnist, audio producer, designer, and associate editor. He will graduate in the spring of 2021 and will pursue a graduate degree.
George christian Scholar
Emily Caldwell is a senior at the University of Texas at Austin studying journalism and Latin American studies. She is the editor-in-chief of The Daily Texan. She hopes to continue to hold the University accountable throughout her time as editor, whether that be through investigative projects, well-researched editorials or conducting crucial interviews with powerful voices on campus. Prior to becoming editor-in-chief, Caldwell worked at the Texan as a columnist, an associate editor and in the social media department. She worked as the editorial intern at the Alcalde magazine, the official publication of the Texas Exes, in the spring of 2020. She will graduate in the spring of 2021 and pursue a career in journalism.
Texas Associated Press Broadcasters Scholar
Faith Castle is a senior at the University of Texas at Austin studying Journalism. She served as the Video Editor of The Daily Texan during the 2019-2020 school year and worked at KUT/X as a Multimedia Intern during the Spring semester. Additionally, Castle has worked for Texas Student Television and multiple magazines at her university, including the one she co-founded, BlackPrint ATX. Through her reporting, she hopes to cover underrepresented communities by combining creativity and storytelling through various multimedia formats. She plans to graduate in the spring of 2021 and pursue a career in broadcast or multimedia journalism.
Stuart long Scholar
Jaden Edison is a senior at Texas State University studying electronic media in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. He serves as the Editor-in-Chief of The University Star—Texas State’s independent student-run news organization—for the 2020-21 school year. He has been a member of The Star since spring 2018, where he also held roles as a columnist, photojournalist, reporter and multimedia editor.
Jaden was selected as The Star’s Editor of the Year for the 2019-20 school year by his colleagues. He has been recognized by and won multiple awards from the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association and Society of Professional Journalists, including first place in Sports Action Photography (TIPA) and first place for Best Use of Multimedia (SPJ Region 8). He was chosen as the 2020 Presidential Upper Level Scholar for Texas State’s College of Fine Arts & Communication.
Throughout his journalism experience, Jaden has visually and aurally captured and written about everything San Marcos and Texas State-related, ranging from first Black organization leaders to community tragedy. He has a passion for working with others and telling stories revolving around people, meaningful action and creative composition.
Jimmy banks Scholar
Arianna Flores is a rising senior at the University of Texas at Austin, where she is pursuing a dual-degree in Plan II Honors and Journalism alongside a minor in Architectural Studies. Most recently, Arianna participated in a two-semester editorial internship at Texas Monthly. During that time, she wrote several pieces covering the coronavirus’ effects on students and business owners in Texas for TexasMonthly.com. She previously held a position on The Daily Texan’s copy staff and has also interned for the Rivard Report in San Antonio. Last summer, she studied photojournalism abroad in Prague, Czech Republic and is currently working toward a senior thesis that photographs women serving those affected by the US-Mexico border crisis. She will be seeking a full-time position in the field of magazine journalism after graduation in the spring. Arianna is a second-time Headliners Foundation scholarship recipient.
Bess Whitehead Scott Scholar
Diana R. Fuentes is in the Mass Communications master’s program at Texas State University. She’s looking forward to returning to the classroom, even if it’s just virtually at first. She was last on a university campus in 1998 at Our Lady of the Lake for courses in statistics and psychology. Prior to that, it was 1985, when she received her bachelor’s in journalism at the University of Texas at Austin. A second-generation Texan, Fuentes grew up on the Texas-Mexico border. Spanish was her first language. She has more than 30 years of journalism experience, rising through the ranks at several newspapers, from police reporter to publisher. Currently she’s Deputy Metro Editor at the San Antonio Express-News. She’s past president of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas and Texas AP Managing Editors and continues to serve on those boards. She also is a member and past president of the San Antonio Association of Hispanic Journalists.
Barry Bishop SCHOLAR
Carlynn Greene is a senior at the University of North Texas (UNT) in Denton studying broadcast journalism. She aspires to be a news/show producer. She has been a part of UNT’s NT-Daily News and North Texas-TV as a reporter, anchor, and producer. In addition to this, she has interned with the Excellence in Journalism (EIJ) conference in the fall of 2019. She was also selected for the prestigious CBS summer fellowship based in New York, but due to COVID-19 that was postponed. Greene has a YouTube channel called ‘ESP Daniella’ where she shares scholarship advice to students. Over the years, she has helped students nationally and internationally win scholarships – a collective amount of $1.1 million with multiple full-rides awarded. She has recently extended this into a business and has written a book titled, “The Scholarship Algorithm” which details more on scholarship advice. She is currently in the process of launching an online course as well by the same title. Greene aspires to one day do a TedTalk regarding scholarships, become a best-selling author for her book, propose more legislation for additional student financial aid, and to start her own scholarship foundation.
sarah and Ernest Butler Scholar
Raga Justin is a rising senior at the University of Texas pursuing a dual degree in journalism and Plan II honors. Originally from Texarkana, she is spending her summer covering higher education full-time for The Texas Tribune after working as a spring 2020 reporting fellow. Raga’s first professional newsroom experience was in the Houston Chronicle’s Austin bureau as a fall 2019 reporting intern, though she spent two years at the Daily Texan before that as a news desk editor and city/state reporter. On campus, she is a journalism coach for the Moody College of Communication’s writing program and a media relations board member for the Indian Students Association. Come fall, she will be an undergraduate teaching assistant at the LBJ School of Public Affairs while starting her senior thesis. In her free time, Raga enjoys road-tripping around Texas, biking, antiquing and reading obscure British novels. After she graduates in May 2021, she hopes to pursue a reporting career in education, public policy or the U.S. legislative system.
Jack Keever Scholar
Trinady Joslin is a junior at the University of Texas at Austin majoring in journalism and minoring in disability studies. She is serving as the managing editor of The Daily Texan during the spring 2021 semester. Prior to that, she worked as a Life and Arts reporter and editor and a projects reporter for the paper. Joslin has interned at The Texas Tribune, The Daily Dot and Austin Woman Magazine. At each publication, she wrote in-depth features on the disability community and hopes to continue to report on health policy and disability after graduating in spring 2022.
Wilbur Evans Scholar and Jack Keever Scholar
Megan Menchaca is a senior at the University of Texas at Austin studying journalism and government. She will serve as The Daily Texan’s managing editor in fall 2020. Since joining The Texan during her freshman year, Megan has held 10 different positions on staff, including social media editor, news editor and director of digital strategy. She has also landed internships at the Austin American-Statesman, The Texas Tribune, the Dallas Morning News and the New York Times Student Journalism Institute. She will graduate in spring 2021 and hopes to pursue a career in journalism.
Dolly and Paul Bolton Scholar
Hannah Ortega is a junior at the University of Texas at Austin studying journalism and rhetoric and writing and pursuing a creative writing certificate. She has worked for The Daily Texan since her freshman year, and her positions have included campus news reporter, news desk editor, and projects reporter. Hannah worked as a breaking news intern for the Dallas Morning News in the summer of 2018. She will graduate in spring 2022.
Darrell K. Royal Scholar
Jhair A. Romero is a junior at the University of Houston studying print journalism. He has worked for The Cougar, UH’s student newspaper, since June 2018. Jhair served as The Cougar’s Sports Editor for the 2019-20 academic year and began his tenure as Editor in Chief of the paper in May 2020. He also spent time working as a Digital Reporter for XFL Digital Media, helping the league cover its inaugural season in early 2020. A member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, Jhair was a recipient of the Ruben Salazar Scholarship in 2018 and the Student Fellowship Award from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 2019. He hopes to graduate in Spring 2022 and continue his career in sports media full time.
Jack Keever Scholar
Sami Sparber is a journalism and political thought senior hailing from the Chicago suburbs. This summer, Sami is leading The Daily Texan through remote production as Managing Editor. After joining the Texan at the start of her freshman year, Sami became the Texan’s first-ever state/national news reporter, first-ever civic engagement reporter, News Editor and Projects Editor. Most recently, she covered state policy and coronavirus disruptions at The Texas Tribune and previously interned with the NBC News Political Unit in Washington, D.C. Sami also reported on the 2019 Texas Legislature as an intern at the Houston Chronicle’s Austin bureau. Next summer, Sami will join The Wall Street Journal after deferring her internship start date due to the coronavirus. As a reporter, Sami is most interested in how the decisions of those in power affect everyday people. She is a Fall 2019 UT System Bill Archer Fellow and a member of the Moody College of Communication Honors Program. Sami will graduate in May 2021 and hopes to pursue a career in journalism.
Sam wood Scholar
Drake C. Toll, a sophomore at Baylor University, is a Journalism, Public Relations major from Vilonia, Arkansas. During the 2019-2020 school year, Drake worked as a broadcast reporter, sports anchor and managing editor for Baylor’s Lariat TV News, while also contributing in print, podcast, social media and sports radio for the Baylor Lariat. Providing multimedia coverage on the biggest stages of collegiate athletics throughout his freshman year, Drake also spent time working for Learfield IMG College as a member of Baylor’s official radio team.
Drake currently serves as Baylor Student Government's Sophomore Class President and, prior to college, was the National President of the National Beta Organization and winner of the 2019-2020 Arky Award given to Arkansas’ premiere sportscaster. Drake plans to pursue a career in sports media but not before maximizing his next three years, working and learning in his dream department.
Texas Associated Press Broadcasters Scholar
Baylee Wang is a senior at the University of Texas at Austin studying Radio-Television-Film and Government. She has served as a news director at Texas Student Television where she has worked on all three shows in the News Department for the past three years. Along with this, Baylee has been a part of relaunching Tower Talks, a roundtable political talk show that fosters civil debate among students about current events and issues, where she also serves as the head executive producer and host. Additionally, Baylee has interned for the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas researching legislative transparency and writing policy platforms for the upcoming 2021 Texas Legislative Session. In her time at UT, she has also been an advocate for domestic violence awareness and prevention, leading a campaign that raised over $98,000 for Austin’s Branch of SAFE in 2019. Baylee will be pursing law school after graduation with a desire to focus on first amendment litigation and media law.
John “Brick” Ellis Scholar
Tiana Woodard is a senior studying journalism and English at The University of Texas at Austin. She spent six semesters at The Daily Texan, where she held positions as Diversity and Inclusion Director, Diversity and Inclusion Board member, Life and Arts co-editor and a Life and Arts reporter. She has completed internships and fellowships with ProPublica, The Texas Tribune, KUT News and Texas Monthly. This summer, she is a Pulliam Fellow at The IndyStar, where she has focused on reporting on Indiana’s Black history. She plans to graduate in spring 2021 and pursue a career in reporting on race relations in America.
Verne Lundquist SCHOLAR
Scholarship Recipients:
Brian Yancelson is a sophomore at Trinity University pursuing a major in Communication and double minors in Political Science and Sport Management. In his first year at Trinity, Brian became the sports editor of the student newspaper, the Trinitonian, and he is set to continue in that role for the upcoming year. Brian is also working as a reporter for Tiger Network, Trinity’s live broadcast network, where he conducts on-camera interviews with student-athletes and coaches. Before coming to Trinity, Brian was a Kid Reporter for Sports Illustrated Kids starting in eighth grade through his sophomore year of high school. That position gave him the opportunity to attend professional sporting events as a member of the press and publish over 30 articles on the SI Kids website, sparking his interest in sports journalism.