BIOS OF 2024 CoLLEGE Scholarship Winners
Margaret Bleyer
Maggee Bleyer is a senior journalism major at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. Bleyer graduated from Mount Carmel High School in 2021 and Wabash Valley College with her associate's in science and art and associate's in applied science and digital media in 2023 in Mount Carmel, Illinois. During her time at Wabash Valley College, Bleyer was president of the Student Senate and Rotaract clubs and was involved in News Channel 15, 89.1 The Bash, and View From the Valley. At Illinois State University, Bleyer is an anchor/reporter/producer for TV-10, the Editor-in-Chief of The Vidette, and works in digital media at ISU's Office of Annual Giving. Besides journalism, Bleyer enjoys singing, playing the guitar and piano, cooking, writing creative pieces, and spending time with her family and friends. Bleyer recently won a Crystal Pillar Award through the NATAS Midwest/Chicago Emmys for her story "Small Town Eclipse" under the category "general assignment - light news." Bleyer's television news story detailed the 2024 solar eclipse in Mount Carmel, Illinois, where the town received 100% totality. Bleyer was also awarded the Bernstein Global Wealth Management Scholarship.
Jillian Helm
Jillian Helm (she/her) is a Producer, Director, and Assistant Director finishing up her senior year at Columbia College Chicago. Jillian loves telling obscure and irreverent stories to broaden the minds of her audience and lead them to empathize with subjects they might have never thought possible. This past spring, she produced the independent short comedy film Bitchin’. Her goal with this project is to empower female filmmakers, uphold standards of professionalism, and cultivate a community where women can create and share stories together. Recently, Jillian has directed her BFA Thesis film at Columbia College Chicago, The Playbook. The short comedy about breaking free of generational pressures and forging your own path. Jillian is excited for the spring, she will be finishing up her last semester of school in Los Angeles and pursuing an internship in physical production.
Nate Keough
Nate is a senior at Loyola University Chicago from Winfield, Illinois. He has a passion for sports and wants to work in sports media. His favorite teams are the Arizona Cardinals and the Chicago White Sox. His dream would be to call play-by-play for the World Series. Nate is the Executive Producer of Rambler Sports Locker. In that role, Nate has been able to build a news reel, edit scripts, organize shows, cover live events, learn how to operate cameras and other equipment, video/audio edit, and more. His favorite event he’s ever reported on was the Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball Tournament in Brooklyn. Nate traveled with other RSL team members to produce a package on every game of the tournament, and Nate reported on the championship game.
Logan Schiano
Logan is a senior at Northwestern University studying journalism and political science. He grew up in Goldens Bridge, NY, where he started the broadcast program at his high school, The Masters School. During his time at Northwestern, Logan has served as News Director of the Northwestern News Network - Northwestern's student-run TV station - and Sports Director of NNN Sports. He has interned with two local stations. - WCTV in Tallahassee, FL, and WMBF in Myrtle Beach, SC - and spent the past summer working as an intern for the NBC News White House Unit in Washington, DC. He hopes to dive further into political reporting after he graduates in June, and his dream job is to be a Capitol Hill correspondent for a major news network.