Senior Emma Henry garnered one of William & Mary’s largest awards before graduating last month — a $40,000 H. Mason Sizemore, Jr. Journalism Fellowship for graduate studies at Northwestern University’s renowned Medill School of Journalism in the fall.

Henry, a history and environmental humanities double major from Wallingford, Pennsylvania, will pursue a Master of Science in Journalism with a health, environment, and science specialization.

“Medill stood out to me in terms of its dedication to positive career outcomes and the opportunity to pursue internships and embedded reporting as part of the degree program,” Henry said.

The scale of the Sizemore Fellowship is transformative. “I am now able to complete my master’s degree without debt, allowing me to focus more on my studies and the opportunities that come with my program,” Henry said. “This fellowship, in part, has given me the space and resources to pursue my dream.”

During her time at W&M, Henry honed her journalism skills through a variety of academic and extracurricular experiences. She participated in the Charles Center’s 2022-23 Sharp Journalism Seminar, completing her first long-form piece of scientific reporting. Her article on challenges of invasive spotted lanternfly research on the East Coast of the U.S. was published on the Pulitzer Center’s website.

She also served on The Flat Hat, first as a news intern, then news editor, and, in her final year, as operations coordinator on the newspaper’s executive board.

“The Flat Hat taught me not only how to interview and report but also how to connect with my community, uplift the voices of others, and to internalize the responsibilities that come with the expectation of honest journalism,” Henry said.

Last summer Henry completed a Charles Center summer Journalism & Democracy Fellowship internship with Virginia Media, earning her a first-place feature story writing award from the Virginia Press Association for her Virginia Gazette article, Dream Catchers hosts equine wedding at Colonial Downs.

Local journalism is humbling, Henry explained. “It inspired me to be curious and to be grateful for those willing to share their lives with me and trust me with their stories.”

According to Henry, W&M’s liberal arts curriculum and culture of curiosity, collaboration, and intellectual cross-pollination lends itself to journalism-minded undergraduates.

“My coursework and experiences at W&M were integral in shaping my decision to pursue graduate studies in journalism,” Henry said. “Through studying history, I have learned more about how stories are told, who writes them, and why they are chosen. Historiography gave me the skills to question common narratives and critically examine legacies of the past. I feel like I have a baseline to understand how societies have developed and how media has functioned within them.”

Studies in W&M’s Sharpe Community Scholars Program, as well as the environment & sustainability program, informed Henry’s growth as a thinker and writer.

“An interdisciplinary approach to understanding the environment taught me how injustices and disproportionate harms have impacted underrepresented communities in both the past and present, inspiring me to pursue more stories which have been ignored by mainstream media,” she said.

Henry joins several recent W&M graduates in receiving the Sizemore distinction, including Jeff Dooley ’09, editor for special newsroom initiatives and partnerships at the Washington Post, and Shannon Kingston ’13, who covers the State Department for ABC News.

The fellowship, administered by the Charles Center, was established in 1998 by H. Mason Sizemore, Jr. ’63 and Connie Catterton Sizemore ’62 to provide an annual award to a graduating senior who will immediately pursue graduate studies in the field of journalism.

“There are no words to describe how valuable this funding is, and what it means for the future of journalism,” Henry said. “The Sizemores remind me that there are so many people who want to support students and see them accomplish their dreams.”

Interested in learning more about journalism opportunities through the Charles Center? Click here.