Two Williams Students Awarded Journalism Fellowships

Media contact:  Noelle Lemoine, communications assistant; tele: (413) 597-4277; email:[email protected]

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., May 30, 2012 — Williams College senior Adam Century has been awarded the Jeffrey Owen Jones ’66 Fellowship in Journalism. This grant, worth $10,000, is intended to help its recipient begin a journalism career, in either traditional or new media. In addition, Meghan Kiesel ’13 was named the recipient of the Lawrence D. Levien 1968 Journalism Summer Fellowship.

Century and Kiesel’s awards were presented at a luncheon at Williams earlier in May. Marc Charney ’65, staff editor for the Sunday Review at The New York Times and previous Associated Press correspondent, presented the awards and spoke about his career and the future of journalism as he sees it.

The Jones Fellowship was established in 2009 to honor the memory of Jeffrey Owen Jones ’66, an Emmy Award-winning writer, producer, and film professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Jones’ engagement with media also included a term as editor of Williams’ student newspaper, The Williams Record.

Every spring, a fellowship committee assesses a range of project proposals with the aim of selecting a graduating senior who “best embodies the qualities for which Jeff was so admired: integrity, talent, independence of mind, wit, strength of character, skepticism of authority, and concern for others.” This year’s committee members were Peter Koenig ’66, Professor of English John Kleiner, and communications director Angela Schaeffer.

Century, a history and Asian studies double major from Troy, N.Y., will use the fellowship to travel to Beijing and work as an intern for The New York Times Beijing bureau.

“My responsibility as a journalist stationed in China is very clear. I need to use my linguistic and cultural background in the country to help ensure that the Times offers its readers the most accurate, nuanced, and responsible coverage possible,” Century said. “The relationship between China and the United States will define the next chapter of global affairs, and I hope to use journalism to bolster understanding between the two countries.”

Century serves as a senior writer for the Williams Record. Last summer, with the help of a Levien Fellowship, he took an unpaid internship with the Beijing desk of The New York Times, where he worked closely with Andrew Jacobs, a veteran New York Times correspondent in Beijing.

“I had an incredible experience,” Century said. “The journalists at the bureau have such a wealth of experience and talents. Whether I was traveling through Western China seeking a quote from monks at a remote Tibetan monastery, or researching and reporting stories in Beijing, the job never had a dull moment.”

The Levien Fellowship was established to “enable a sophomore or junior to pursue scholarly and personal interests in journalism during the summer.” The selection process emphasizes creativity in project proposals, which may cover a range of media, subject matter, and location.

Kiesel, a Chinese major from Excelsior, Minn., plans to use the Levien Fellowship to work with the politics division of ABC News in Washington, D.C.  She will be working primarily with ABC’s online news department.

The opportunity facilitated by the Levien Fellowship will “help me understand how journalism has changed and will be changing in the online spheres,” said Kiesel.  “This is going to be an important stepping stone for me to determine how and in what form I want journalism to be a part of my career moving forward.”

The Jones Fellowship is administered by the director of fellowships, and the Levien Fellowship is administered by the Alumni Sponsored Internship Program.

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Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second-oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college’s 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research. Students’ educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment in Williamstown, Mass., which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student’s financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted.

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Published May 30, 2012