College
Collegiate Scholarship
To be considered for the $1,000 Memorial Scholarship, students at a Nebraska college or university who are entering their junior or senior years must be enrolled for at least 12 credit hours. Graduate students must be enrolled for at least nine credit hours. Scholarship winners will be asked to verify their enrollment status.
To be considered for the scholarship, eligible applicants must submit:
- A one-page resume.
- Links to three work samples, such as newspaper/magazine/online stories, photographs, audio or video clips; advertising copy or layouts or professional social media posts.
- A personal statement of 300 words or less highlighting your experiences and your professional goals.
- A reference letter from an adviser or faculty member that attests to your GPA and explains why you should be selected for this scholarship.
- Optional: an additional reference letter from someone of your choice.
Send the above as attachments in an email to: npwscholarship@gmail.com. Please be sure links to online content function properly. There is no separate application form.
Application deadline for the 2026 scholarship will be announced in early 2026.
Questions? Contact NPW Scholarship Chair Mary Kay Quinlan at npwscholarship@gmail.com
UNL Senior Chosen for 2025 Scholarship
Omaha native Josie Golka, a senior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, will receive the NPW $1,000 Memorial Scholarship for upper class undergraduate or graduate students. She is an advertising and public relations major at the College of Journalism and Mass Communications with a minor in political science.
Golka is editor in chief of UNL’s student newspaper, the Daily Nebraskan. She has held leadership positions in her sorority and is a Clifton Strengths Coach, among her many other collegiate accomplishments. She covered state government issues as part of the Nebraska News Service and worked as a team lead, mentoring younger news service reporters.
Golka aspires to attend law school following graduation next spring. In her application, she said: “I am excited to chase my dream of defending journalists and the First Amendment in courts and statehouses across the nation.”
Previous Collegiate Winners
Prior to 2012, the Nebraska Press Women awarded a Memorial Scholarship and an Excellence in Media Scholarship. The two were combined in 2012 into the NPW Memorial Scholarship for women college students. Scholarship criteria were changed in 2023 to make students of any gender eligible.
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Past Recipients of the Memorial Scholarship:
2024: Naomi Delkamiller, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
2023: Marissa Kraus, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
2022: Kloee Sander, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
2021: Ana Bellinghausen, University of Nebraska-Omaha
2020: Natalie Saenz, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
2019: Dannielle Anderson, Nebraska Wesleyan Univer¬sity
2018: Brittany Hamor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
2017: Baylee Vrtiska, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
2016: Emma Olson, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
2015: Mara Klecker, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
2014: Chelsea Eaton, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
2013: Emily Hemphill, Concordia University
2012: Hailey Konnath, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
2011: Emily Nohr, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
2010: Jamie Klein, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
2009: Skylar Osovski, Wayne State College
2006: Michelle Bishop, University of Nebraska-Omaha
2003: Jennifer Myers, Nebraska Wesleyan University
2001: Valeria R. Robert, University of Nebraska at Omaha
1999: Sarah Fox, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
1997: Stacy Rande, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
1996: Mary Woods, Chadron State College
1995: Melissa Dunne, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Past Recipients of the Excellence in Media Scholarship
2012: Elizabeth Lachnit, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
2011: Bethany Trueblood, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
2010: Erin Starkebaum, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
2009: Sarah Thomsen, Wayne State College
2006: Linsey Marshall, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
2003: Amanda Sauder, Union College
2001: Tiffany Schmitz, Wayne State College
1999: Kristi Mehlhoff, Chadron State College
1997: Jessica Kennedy, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
1996: Becky Lagler, Chadron State College1995: Rainbow Rowell, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
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