Graduate Student Wins Overseas Press Club Foundation Scholarship

Lee Wilkins Radio-TV Journalism Professor

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Overseas Press Club Foundation

By Rachel Dennis

Michelle Loyalka addresses the audience as she accepts her Overseas Press Club Foundation award at the Yale Club in New York City. Behind her is Bill Holstein, OPC Foundation president.

Columbia, Mo. (March 3, 2006) -- Missouri School of Journalism graduate student Michelle Loyalka has been awarded a scholarship worth $2,000 by the Overseas Press Club Foundation. Loyalka was among 12 journalism students from around the country to be selected from more than 175 applicants.

Loyalka's winning essay described the startling psychological impact of breakneck change and social upheaval that underlie the booming Chinese economy. She spent seven years in China after receiving her undergraduate degree from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis. Loyalka will graduate in May 2006 with an emphasis in magazine journalism.

"Michelle has had a rich experience in China, and the Overseas Press Club is recognizing this with her award," said Lee Wilkins, director of graduate studies. "In addition, she is a young woman committed to using journalism to promote international understanding. Michelle is an outstanding student, and the faculty and the School are proud of her and her achievement."

The Overseas Press Club (OPC) is the nation's oldest and largest association of journalists engaged in international news. Part of its mission is to help educate a new generation of foreign correspondents to uphold high standards in international news reporting. The scholarships are awarded annually to journalism students aspiring to become foreign correspondents.

Loyalka attended the Foundation's Scholarship Luncheon at the Yale Club in New York City. Terry Moran, Nightline co-anchor at ABC News, was the guest speaker.

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Dec. 15, 2004: First Tina Hills Fellow Wins Overseas Press Club Foundation Scholarship Marina Walker, an award-winning journalist from Mendoza, Argentina, and the School's first Tina Hills Fellow, has been awarded a scholarship worth $2,000 by the Overseas Press Club Foundation. Walker was one of only 12 selected from a pool of 175 applicants from 60 different colleges and universities. [More]

Rachel Dennis, a senior from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is pursuing a dual degree in journalism (advertising) and political science. She has interned at Norman-Robert Communications in Columbia, Mo., and the Missouri House of Representatives in Jefferson City, Mo. Upon graduation in May 2006, Dennis hopes to pursue a career in account management with a Chicago advertising agency.