Seven College of Journalism and Mass Communications students will receive $2,500 scholarships from the Omaha Press Club Foundation for the 2025-2026 academic year. One CoJMC staff member will also receive a $2,000 fellowship award.
Marissa Lindemann, a junior broadcasting major from Neveda, Iowa, 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.
Three CoJMC students will receive John F. Davis Scholarships:
- Noah Douglas, a senior journalism and sports media and communication double major from Pewaukee, Wisconsin
- Chloe Fitzgibbon, a junior journalism major from Lincoln
- Fisher Madsen, a sophomore journalism and sports media and communication double major from Omaha
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.
Justin Diep, a sophomore advertising and public relations, broadcasting and journalism triple major from Omaha, will receive the Rudolph "Rudy" Smith, Sr. Scholarship. Rudy Smith was a ground-breaking photographer during a half-century career with the Omaha World-Herald and was also active in the fight for civil rights in Omaha. When Rudy joined the staff of the OWH in 1964, he became the first African American to work in its news department. Smith also became the first African American faculty member in the UNO Department of Communication.
Shelby Rickert, a junior journalism major from Beaver City, will receive the Panko-Roberts 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.
Ruth Bailey, a junior journalism major from Dallas, Texas, will receive the Paul 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.
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.
The award winners will be recognized at the annual OPC Scholarship Brunch on April 26 in Omaha.
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/.
