Elizabeth Brixey wins esteemed Covington Award for Mentoring
(L-R)Elizabeth Brixey, Yasmeen Saadi
COLUMBIA, Mo. (April 23, 2025) — Elizabeth Brixey, a professor at the Missouri School of Journalism, has earned the 2025 Ann K. Covington Award for Mentoring. Named for a retired Missouri Supreme Court justice known for her tutelage of students, the university-wide award recognizes excellent student mentorship.
Brixey is the K-12 education and youth editor at the Columbia Missourian, the School of Journalism’s community newspaper.
“Liz is a key source of guidance for students as they develop community reporting skills,” said David Kurpius, dean of the School of Journalism. “Her ability to instill both knowledge and passion in students has made her an impactful figure at the School for more than two decades, and she is certainly deserving of this award.”
The award — yet another prestigious honor for Brixey on the heels of her Kemper Award in 2022 and other awards for teaching excellence over the course of her career — is notable for its student-driven nature. Undergraduate students who have worked with Mizzou’s Office of Global and National Fellowships to apply for a competitive fellowship, grant or scholarship can nominate a mentor.
Brixey was nominated for this award by senior Yasmeen Saadi, the Columbia Missourian’s assistant city editor for K-12 education and youth.
“Not only has Liz supported me as a reporter, but as a person,” Saadi wrote in her nomination letter. “Outside reporting, she encouraged my love for music by attending my piano recital, then pushing me to continue making time for piano. She also made sure I knew I was worthy of every opportunity or award I decided to pursue.”
Brixey sees a comprehensive approach to mentoring as indistinguishable from teaching.
“Maybe the big arc for the semester is to help them develop or shine up certain skills and help them feel confidence,” Brixey said. “But on a particular day, mentorship can be, ‘Let’s sit down and talk this through. I understand you’re anxious, let’s figure this out. You know more than you think you do.’”
In a newsroom populated by students who must ultimately move on to professional careers, these narrative arcs are short by design. Saadi is preparing to graduate, and soon a fresh wave of young students will look to Brixey for leadership and support. But for Brixey, the impacts of her relationships with journalists-in-training resonate no matter how brief the students’ tenures at the Missourian might be.
“Yasmeen and I have been working together for a couple of years, and she is my right arm right now, but she is getting ready to leave,” Brixey said. “I’m a good homeroom teacher — that’s what I am. I try to set them up for the next opportunity for growth and learning. Sometimes, though, I get to have them for a couple of years, and it’s special to me when that happens. I was deeply touched by what Yasmeen wrote about me, and I’m so proud of her for who she is as she leaves this school.”
Brixey is the second journalism faculty member to win the Ann K. Covington Award since its inception in 2014. Yong Volz, the Roger Gafke Distinguished Faculty Fellow, won in 2021.
Updated: April 23, 2025