NATCHITOCHES – Kallie Bourgeois of Reserve is one of six college students from around the country selected for the inaugural launch of the Inclusive Excellence in Journalism (IEJ) fellowship.
Bourgeois is editor-in-chief of The Current Sauce, Northwestern State’s student newspaper, and president of NSU’s Society of Professional Journalists chapter. As an IEJ fellow, she will be immersed in many aspects of investigative reporting, including the dos and don’ts of AI, multimedia storytelling, how to organize stories and more. Through the fellowship, which is asynchronous, students will learn how to report and produce investigative journalism that serves their communities and holds the powerful to account.
Bourgeois was nominated for the fellowship by Jim Mustian, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and NSU graduate who currently holds the Erbon W. and Marie Wise Endowed Chair in Journalism in the Department of New Media, Journalism and Communication Arts. Mustian teaches investigative reporting, beat reporting and sports communication for the department.
“This fellowship will improve all aspects of investigative reporting,” Bourgeois said. “I will learn how to develop strong story ideas, conduct meaningful research, learn the basics of data journalism and improve my interviewing skills. This will allow me to take my education at NSU to a higher level in terms of journalistic practice and report on the Natchitoches community. I look forward to bringing these learned experiences to grow student media.”
Bourgeois has been involved with The Current Sauce for the last three years as a staff reporter, sports editor, copy editor and now editor-in-chief. She also serves as editor-in-chief of the PLUGGED IN magazine for the COMM 4230 course, a leadership role that is similar to The Current Sauce.
“Being involved with the newspaper has given me so many opportunities as far as networking, internship offers and taking my professional career growth to another level,” she said. “The Current Sauce and student media is the whole reason I came to NSU, and I’m grateful that I’m getting to collaborate with an amazing group of students and faculty in my time here.
“I’ve also revised the student chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists here at NSU. This has also allowed me to give back to the department’s students and provide them with professional development opportunities like resume building, article writing and having professionals in the media industry speak on the importance of this field.”
The fellowship will be a demanding one. Fellows must be able to juggle their semester studies with the fellowship, which means being committed to completing the curriculum, doing assignments and attending weekly zoom sessions. It also requires traveling to the Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) conference in the Washington, D.C. area June 18-22. The formal curriculum will begin at the start of Arizona State University’s fall semester which is August 20.
All expenses associated with the fellowship program, including the Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) conference, IRE student membership, the fall course, travel and accommodations, will be covered through the funding support of the Scripps Howard Foundation.
“Being nominated as one of six fellows in the inaugural launch was very surprising, and to be selected was even more shocking,” Bourgeois said. “I’ll forever be grateful that I was selected to represent NSU and everything that this university has taught me in the last three years. I would not be where I am today if it weren’t for the support of family, friends, faculty and staff and other students.”
Information on NSU’s Department of New Media, Journalism and Communication Arts is available at https://www.nsula.edu/academics/colleges-and-schools/school-of-creative-and-performing-arts/new-media-journalism-communication-arts/.