Five University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications students and one staff member were selected for awards from the Omaha Press Club Foundation for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Damon Bennett, a junior broadcasting and sports media and communication double major from Grand Island, will receive the $2,500 Paul N. Williams Scholarship. The scholarship recognizes Paul N. Williams, a dedicated journalist. His 27 years as a newspaperman culminated in a share of the first Pulitzer Prize ever awarded to a weekly newspaper, the Omaha Sun.
Josie Golka, a junior advertising and public relations major from Omaha, will receive the Stan Bond Scholarship. Stan Bond was KETV’s first field engineer, pioneering live broadcasting from remote story locations for the newsroom in which he was a full newsgathering participant. A past president of the Omaha Press Club and trustee of the Omaha Press Club Foundation, Bond received the Distinguished Club Member Award in 2001.
Shelby Rickert, a junior journalism major from Beaver City, will receive the $2,500 John Davis Scholarship. Established in 1974, the Davis scholarship is named in honor of First National Bank executive John F. Davis, who helped establish the Omaha Press Club atop the bank building at 16th and Dodge streets.
Mia Sadlouskos, a junior broadcasting and marketing double major from Lithia, Florida, will receive the $2,500 Judy Horan Scholarship. The Judy Horan scholarship honors the former “queen of grammar,” who served as the promotion and marketing director at WOWT for two decades. A longtime Omaha Press Club supporter, Judy ended her career writing for Omaha Magazine and the Omaha World-Herald.
Livia Ziskey, a junior advertising and public relations and journalism double major from Omaha, will receive the $2,500 Panko-Roberts/President’s Memorial Scholarship. It is the oldest Omaha Press Club scholarship and was first presented in 1957 in memory of Omaha World-Herald reporter Walter Panko. More than a decade later, the name of KMTV News Director Jim Roberts was added, and the award now honors all past presidents of the Omaha Press Club and Omaha Press Club Foundation.
Jamie Wenz will receive the John Savage Visual Communications Fellowship. The fellowship is endowed by the family, colleagues and friends of John Savage, a pioneer Omaha World-Herald photojournalist and founder of the Omaha Press Club. The fellowship provides a $2,000 award for visual communications initiatives that benefit students.
Wenz will use the award to purchase BSS cases for live streaming.
“One of the biggest barriers preventing students from doing more remote streaming and recording is portability,” Wenz said. “The addition of these cases will allow more students to gain hands-on experience in the growing field of live streaming.”
The College of Journalism and Mass Communication’s Omaha Press Club Scholarship selection committee members were Assistant Professors Linda White and Jessica Walsh and Professor of Practice Matt Waite.
The award winners will be recognized at the annual OPC Scholarship Brunch on April 20 in Omaha.
“Congratulations to all the Omaha Press Club award recipients,” said Shari Veil, Jane T. Olson Dean of the UNL College of Journalism and Mass Communications. “These awards show the OPC’s commitment to the future of journalism and underscore the recipients' hard work and dedication to excellence.”
For over 50 years, the Omaha Press Club and Omaha Press Club Foundation have awarded journalism scholarships to the most deserving students at Creighton University, the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. To learn more about the Omaha Press Club, visit https://www.omahapressclub.com/.
