McGill Fellows named for 2023

Twelve students have been named 2023 McGill Fellows by the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia. The class, selected by a faculty committee for their strengths in academics, practical experience and leadership, includes 10 undergraduate journalism majors and two graduate students. 

The 2023 McGill Fellows are: 

  • Victoria Adkins, journalism, Kennesaw, Georgia
  • Skyli Alvarez, journalism, Alpharetta, Georgia
  • Martina Essert, journalism, Chesapeake, Virginia
  • Taft Gantt, journalism, Athens, Georgia
  • Jacqueline GaNun (AB ‘23), graduate student, Savannah, Georgia
  • Cassidy Hettesheimer, journalism, Dacula, Georgia
  • Erin Kenney (AB ‘22), graduate student, Powder Springs, Georgia
  • Sophie Ralph, journalism, Alpharetta, Georgia
  • Elizabeth Rymarev, journalism, Cumming, Georgia
  • Audrie Uphues, journalism, Alpharetta, Georgia
  • Melanie Velasquez, journalism, Jefferson, Georgia
  • Ciera Walker, journalism, Columbus, Georgia

The McGill Fellows were responsible for researching nominees and selecting the recipient of the 2023 McGill Medal for Journalistic Courage, Lynsey Addario, who was announced in June. Addario is an American photojournalist who has been covering conflict, humanitarian crises and women’s issues around the Middle East and Africa on assignment for The New York Times and National Geographic for more than two decades.

The McGill Fellows will participate in the McGill Symposium on Sept. 20, 2023, which brings together students, faculty and leading journalists to consider what journalistic courage means and how it is exemplified by reporters and editors.

Visiting professionals who will speak at the McGill Symposium include Daniel Funke (ABJ ’16) of AFP, Frank LoMonte of CNN and Kamille Whittaker (MFA ’21) of Canopy Atlanta. Via video call, Addario will deliver the McGill Lecture and will accept the McGill Medal following the McGill Symposium. The lecture is part of UGA’s Signature Lectures series and will take place at 4 p.m. in Special Collections Libraries room 271.

This is the sixteenth class of McGill Fellows. The first class was selected in 2007.

The Grady College faculty selection committee consisted of Dodie Cantrell-Bickley, Keith Herndon, Janice Hume, Mark Johnson, Vicki Michaelis, Jonathan Peters and Diane Murray, who directs the McGill Program for Journalistic Courage.

The McGill Program for Journalistic Courage grew out of the McGill Lecture which for more than 40 years has brought significant figures in journalism to the University of Georgia to help honor Ralph McGill’s courage as an editor.

McGill, while editor and publisher of The Atlanta Constitution, was regarded as the “conscience of the south,” using the newspaper’s editorial pages to challenge segregation in the 1950s and 1960s. McGill was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1958 for “long, courageous and effective leadership.”

The McGill Program is funded in part by the McGill Lecture Endowment.

McGill Fellows selected for 2020 Symposium

Twelve students have been named McGill Fellows by the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. The class, selected by a faculty committee for their strengths in academics, practical experience and leadership, includes 11 undergraduate students and one graduate student, all majoring in journalism.

The McGill Fellows are:

  • Mack Brown (Marietta, Georgia)
  • Alex English (Wiesbaden, Germany)
  • Evan Lasseter (Perry, Georgia)
  • Lexie Little (Kingsport, Tennessee)
  • Olivia Mead (Alpharetta, Georgia)
  • Tylar Norman (Conyers, Georgia)
  • Caroline Odom (Richmond Hill, Georgia)
  • Savannah Sicurella (Daytona Beach, Florida)
  • Henry Queen (Atlanta, Georgia)
  • Augusta Stone (Chickamauga, Georgia)
  • Lauren Swenson (Toccoa, Georgia)
  • Lora Yordanova (Lilburn, Georgia)

The McGill Fellows will participate in the McGill Symposium, which brings together students, faculty and leading journalists to consider what journalistic courage means and how it is exemplified by reporters and editors.

The McGill Symposium will be held over two days on March 18 and March 22. Topics covered include politics, pandemic and social justice. Visiting journalists Rana Ayyub, Washington Post global opinions writer; Stephen Fowler, Georgia Public Broadcasting reporter; Lisa Krieger, San Jose Mercury News science writer and Alyssa Pointer, Atlanta Journal Constitution photojournalist will join the Fellows virtually.

Ayyub will be presented the 2020 McGill medal for journalistic courage during her virtual session. An April 2020 visit to receive the medal was cancelled due to the pandemic.

This is the fourteenth class of McGill Fellows. The first class was selected in 2007.

The Grady College faculty selection committee consisted of Dodie Cantrell, Keith Herndon, Janice Hume, Mark Johnson, Vicki Michaelis and Diane Murray, who directs the McGill program for Journalistic Courage.

For more than 40 years, the McGill Lecture has brought significant figures in journalism to the University of Georgia to honor Ralph McGill’s courage as an editor.

McGill, while editor and publisher of The Atlanta Constitution, was regarded as the “conscience of the south,” using the newspaper’s editorial pages to challenge segregation in the 1950s and 1960s. McGill was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1958 for “long, courageous and effective leadership.”

The McGill Symposium is funded by the McGill Lecture Endowment.

McGill Fellows selected for 2019 Symposium

Twelve students have been named McGill Fellows by the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. The class, selected by a faculty committee for their strengths in academics, practical experience and leadership, includes 10 journalism majors, one PR major and one graduate student.

The McGill Fellows are:

  • Gabriella Audi, Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania
  • Yash Bhika, Cartersville, Georgia
  • Sofia Gratas, Marietta, Georgia
  • Cat Hendrick, Orange County, California
  • Collin Huguley, Hoschton, GA
  • Sam Jones, Cumming, Georgia
  • Taylor Maggiore, Athens, Georgia
  • Myan Patel, Knoxville, Tennessee
  • Adia Randall, Snellville, Georgia
  • Cameren Rogers, Thomasville, Georgia
  • Will Salter, Claxton, Georgia
  • Wangechi Warui, Acworth, Georgia

The McGill Lecture will be given by David McCraw, general counsel for the New York Times, at 4 p.m. in Miller Learning Center 150. The lecture is free and open to the public.

The McGill Fellows will:

  • Participate in the McGill Symposium, which brings together students, faculty and leading journalists to consider what journalistic courage means and how it is exemplified by reporters and editors. The McGill Symposium will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13, in the Peyton Anderson Forum at Grady College.
  • Attend and be introduced at the 41st McGill Lecture, “Fake, Fake News: The Press, The President and the Future of the First Amendment” delivered by McCraw.
  • Help select the tenth recipient of the McGill Medal, awarded annually to a U.S. journalist whose career has exemplified journalistic courage.

This is the thirteenth class of McGill Fellows. The first class was selected in 2007.

The Grady College faculty selection committee consisted Valerie Boyd, Keith Herndon, Janice Hume, Mark Johnson, Vicki Michaelis and Diane Murray, who directs the McGill program for Journalistic Courage.

For more than 40 years, the McGill Lecture has brought significant figures in journalism to the University of Georgia to help us honor Ralph McGill’s courage as an editor.

McGill, while editor and publisher of The Atlanta Constitution, was regarded as the “conscience of the south,” using the newspaper’s editorial pages to challenge segregation in the 1950s and 1960s. McGill was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1958 for “long, courageous and effective leadership.”

Established in 1978, this University of Georgia annual lecture series addresses major issues impacting the American press.

The McGill Symposium is funded by the McGill Lecture Endowment.