Senior journalism and political science major Zach Wendling was awarded the Nelson Dream Big Award. The award will help fund his summer internship at The Hill, a media corporation that reports on policy and political U.S. news.
The Dream Big Fund was established by O.J. and Christie Nelson to support high-performing students and encourage them to pursue internships at journalism powerhouses in major media markets.
For the internship, Wendling will move to Washington, D.C., for the summer. Last summer he had a reporting internship in D.C. with a congressional newspaper called The News Station. There Wendling shadowed a veteran reporter and independently covered topics such as cannabis, drugs, prisons and veterans, including a couple congressional hearings. He also took to the halls of Congress for practical insight into life on Capitol Hill as a political reporter.
Wendling has worked for University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus newspaper, The Daily Nebraskan since his freshman year where he started as a news reporter. The summer after his freshman year he became the assistant news editor for five months before being named co-editor of the COVID team from September 2020 to April 2021.
In April 2021, he resumed his role as assistant news editor and the following month he was promoted to senior news editor. In February 2022, Wendling wrapped up his time at The Daily Nebraskan and started his multimedia journalist role in CoJMC’s Experience Lab program Nebraska News Service where he reported on the Nebraska Legislature.
“This award means the world to me because it allows me to go to D.C. and continue my education with hands-on real world experience and I'm eternally grateful for that opportunity,” Wendling said. “I look forward to what I'm able to accomplish in reporting on the news that matters to me, my community and the nation.”
