Unsure of what she specifically wanted to study when she came to Southern Illinois University Carbondale in August 2023, Carly Gist took very little time in finding her niche.
In less than two years, Gist’s journalistic work has been recognized by the Chicago Headline Club and Foundation with the 2025 Les Brownlee Memorial Scholarship. The award honors the late Les Brownlee, a trailblazing journalist and the organization’s first Black president, and goes to collegiate journalists “based on journalistic excellence, experience, writing samples and demonstrated commitment to the field.”
Gist is the first student from SIU Carbondale to win the award.
In the last year, Gist, a 20-year-old journalism student from Evansville, Indiana, has traveled with a team to Washington, D.C., to cover President Donald Trump’s inauguration and events surrounding it for the student newspaper, The Daily Egyptian. She has worked as a freelance journalist for respected outlets, including The New York Times and Capitol News Illinois, covering myriad stories such as spring storm damage in Southern Illinois and southeast Missouri, a recent deadly vehicle crash into a Chatham, Illinois, daycare, and legal matters surrounding anti-abortion rights protesters at a Carbondale abortion clinic. She also finds time as a fiction writer for Grassroots Literary and Arts magazine.
This summer, Gist will be one of 11 American students traveling to Germany to participate in a three-week RIAS Berlin Commission ERP Transatlantic study program in broadcast journalism that connects American students with their peers in Germany.
‘Incredible honor’
“The scholarship is an incredible honor, and I am extremely grateful not just to the foundation, but also to my wonderful professors, classmates and colleagues who help push me every day to become a stronger journalist,” Gist said. “I am also just very honored to represent my school. We are doing some incredible work in the School of Journalism and Advertising, and it feels so amazing to see that hard work get recognized.”
The scholarship includes a $5,000 award, and Gist plans to use the funds to help pay for journalism-related expenses she will have outside of the classroom, along with purchasing additional equipment. Gist hopes to find an internship in the near future, and the funds could help alleviate housing and travel costs.
Molly Parker-Stephens, an assistant professor in SIU’s School of Journalism and Advertising, said she couldn’t think of a more deserving student.
"Carly’s been a standout from the moment I met her,” she said. “She’s extra curious. She’ll keep asking questions on a topic until she really gets it, until she could write a dissertation on it. She works hard to understand the big picture and put people’s stories into real context, a skill many journalists don’t develop until much later in their careers.”
Doing what she loves
The short answer to Gist keeping her busy schedule is doing what she loves. From honing her multimedia skills and gaining breaking news experience, Gist noted those experiences pay off. She will be The Daily Egyptian’s deputy editor-in-chief this fall before taking over the top spot for the spring 2026 semester.
“I enjoy learning and I’m very passionate about journalism, so I’m always open to new opportunities,” she said. “I am very goal-oriented and don’t like to limit myself.”
Gist said she knew she was interested in journalism but had no experience when she came to SIU. She decided to take classes on a variety of subjects before declaring a major and got a job at The Daily Egyptian. Gist initially started as a double major in journalism and social work, but this fall will focus journalism with a news editorial specialization.
Gist “has emerged as a newsroom leader and thoughtful editor,” said Alee Quick, the DE’s faculty managing editor.
Gist expects to graduate in May 2027 and will pursue a career in journalism. She also has minors in social justice and English creative writing.
Balanced and meticulous
William Freivogel, a professor in the School of Journalism and Advertising who holds a law degree and has covered the Supreme Court, said Gist is a “meticulous reporter, meticulous about facts and about balanced reporting.” He worked with Gist on the story involving anti-abortion rights protesters in their attempt to have the U.S. Supreme Court hear their challenge to restrictions placed on protestors.
“The story involved not only the fraught abortion issue but also intricacies of how the Supreme Court decides what cases to hear and what cases to decline,” Freivogel said. “Carly took care with the details of the legal process and wrote down-the-middle stories about the clash between abortion and free speech. I was impressed.”
Julia Rendleman, also an assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Advertising, said Gist is a “smart and dedicated storyteller” who is “brave and receptive to feedback, and I hope, a reflection of the work we are doing to make the Saluki journalism program one of the best.”
Gist is part of the Saluki Local Reporting Lab, a professional lab within the School of Journalism and Advertising headed by Rendleman and Parker-Stephens. Parker-Stephens noted that Capitol News Illinois sends stories out to more than 700 media outlets across the state and Gist’s work “is pretty incredible for someone who’s just heading into her junior year.”
It was Gist’s work with The Daily Egyptian that prompted The New York Times to reach out and ask her to do freelance work, Parker-Stephens said.
“That says a lot, too. Not just about Carly, but about the kind of reporting our students are doing here,” Parker-Stephens said. “They’re not just learning; they’re serving Southern Illinois in profound ways. I’m so glad to see her commitment to journalism recognized with such a prestigious award.”
