By Richard Ray
If there’s a message from last year’s winner of the Les Brownlee Memorial Scholarship to this year’s applicants, it’s to go for it.
“It wasn’t really daunting if that’s what people are worried about,” 21-year-old Carly Gist said of her experience. “It was a pretty smooth application process.”
Gist, a journalism major and editor-in-chief of The Daily Egyptian at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, was first referred to the Les Brownlee Memorial Scholarship by her professor, Molly Parker. At the time, she was balancing her freelance work for The New York Times with her studies.
“I was so honored to have been selected,” she said, noting she was then invited to attend the prestigious Lisagor Awards in Chicago.” It was such an honor to be the first student from this far south to go up there.”
Since then, she’s put the $5,000 scholarship to good use: housing, meals, gas for her car—all things that support her academic pursuits and burgeoning journalism career.
“Last summer, right after I won the scholarship, I was doing a study abroad fellowship in Germany,” she said. “That really helped with any extra costs that popped up as well.”
Gist said she’s particularly excited about her next internship with the Cincinnati Inquirer, where she’ll work on investigative and enterprise stories. The scholarship money will continue to help her as she explores life in another city.
“Getting that scholarship is really taking that financial burden off of me so that I can go away from home,” she said. “This field is so competitive that you need something like that to set you apart.”
Hoping to sharpen her visual storytelling skills, Gist said she’s planning to buy a camera to use in her reporting, but she won’t be taking classes over the summer, which is a requirement for an on-campus job.
“Having all that money and having all those cool experiences is going to help me,” she said of the scholarship.
Asked if she had any other advice for students vying for the scholarship, Gist said she encourages students from across Illinois to apply—and to do so early.
“Don’t be hesitant,” the said. “Turn in your application early, I’m kind of bad at that.”
Lastly, she expressed gratitude for the Chicago Headline Club Foundation for awarding her the scholarship.
“It’s really going to benefit me, it already has, I’m so excited I’m going to get to do this internship this summer thanks to them,” she said. “Earning this scholarship has given me a network. I’ve gotten to meet so many people.”
The Les Brownlee Memorial Scholarship honors the legacy of Les Brownlee, who broke racial barriers in journalism and championed the profession throughout his career until his death in 2005.
Undergraduate journalism students at Illinois institutions are eligible to apply. Recipients are selected based on journalistic excellence, experience, writing samples and demonstrated commitment to the field. Applications for the 2026 scholarship cycle are open now.