Sports editor Nate Atkins and staff member Lizzie Johnson were each awarded a $1,000 scholarship by The Maneater scholarship selection committee. This was the first time the committee awarded two scholarships in a single year. The scholarship amount was also increased from $500 to $1,000 each.
The committee decided to increase the scholarship fund because of the “record-breaking” number of applicants and donations from Maneater alumni, according to a scholarship committee news release. The committee also decided Atkins and Johnson both deserved the scholarship.
A sophomore and two-year Maneater staff member, Atkins has published more than 100 stories during his time at The Maneater. Atkins also placed first in the Division I Sports Writing category at the Missouri College Media Association Conference earlier this month.
Scholarship committee member and former Maneater managing editor Derek Kravitz said Atkins is one of the hardest-working staff members the committee has seen.
“His love of the newspaper is clear in everything he does,” Kravitz said in a news release. “Nate helped organize the paper’s coverage of the recovery efforts following the deadly tornado last May in Joplin. He spent two months writing a superb profile of an injured Missouri football player, which bigger competitors took immediate notice of. Nate simply understands the importance of The Maneater’s 57-year history and he embodies the best, selfless attributes of its hardworking staff.”
Freshman staff member Johnson has also published more than 60 stories during her first year at The Maneater. Johnson started writing for The Maneater in August 2011 and currently holds a copy editor position.
In her scholarship essay, Johnson wrote she could not imagine going a day without working at The Maneater.
Scholarship committee member Barb Burlison said in a news release that Johnson picks up a project and makes sure the finished product is “polished and outstanding.”
Kravitz also said Johnson is a “rising star” at The Maneater.
“Lizzie is an incredible asset to the newspaper and college journalism, and The Maneater will be in good hands with excellent journalists like her,” he said.
The Maneater scholarship program, which was created in 2008, has previously awarded four $500 scholarships to Maneater staff members. All editorial and business staff members of The Maneater are eligible to apply.