LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University senior Jake Hawkins has spent the last four years working on The Rambler student newspaper and honing his reporting skills. Now a major newspaper has taken notice.
Hawkins has been selected as one of 19 USA Today Collegiate Correspondents for the spring 2013 semester. He will write stories for www.usatodaycollege.com with the chance to be published in the print edition of USA Today.
The Princeton, Ky., native is just the second student from Kentucky to be named a collegiate correspondent for the news outlet. Alumni from the program have been from top journalism schools including Syracuse University, Michigan State University, New York University and Northwestern University.
A writing, rhetoric and communication major, Hawkins has been working with the Transylvania faculty to cater his curriculum to journalism. He also serves as the editor-in-chief of The Rambler.
“I really feel like I’ve gotten a personalized education at Transylvania,” Hawkins said. “Even though we don’t have a formal journalism program, my WRC professors and Rambler advisors have gone out of their way to tailor WRC to journalism for me.”
Hawkins found the USA Today application while researching his senior seminar project in which he’s compiling a portfolio of freelance journalism stories. The deadline for the application was just two hours away, so he quickly filled it out and submitted clips. He then wrote an article on the fiscal cliff and how it relates to college students, earning him selection to the program, which begins Jan. 2.
“The whole application process was very serendipitous,” Hawkins said. “I’m excited for the opportunity.”