Missouri School of Journalism senior Kelly Kullman receives $2,000 Jerry Heaster Scholarship for Business Reporting
University of Missouri senior Kelly Kullman, from Cole Camp, Mo., is studying journalism with an emphasis in print and digital and has been named the recipient of the $2,000 Jerry Heaster Scholarship in Business Journalism.
Columbia, Mo. (June 18, 2020) — Missouri School of Journalism senior Kelly Kullman is the 2020 recipient of the $2,000 Jerry Heaster Scholarship in Business Journalism.
“I am truly honored to have been chosen as the recipient of the Jerry Heaster Scholarship Award,” said Kullman. “I am very grateful to the committee for believing in me and making this investment in my future.”
Originally from Cole Camp, Mo., Kullman is studying journalism with an emphasis in print and digital.
“Receiving this scholarship is like finding the missing piece of the puzzle as to how I will succeed this fall while taking 18 credit hours,” said Kullman. “It relieves some of the stress I experienced last year as a full-time student and a full-time employee by allowing me to focus more of my time and energy on my classes and developing my skills as a business journalist.”
Jerry Heaster was an award-winning business editor and columnist at The Kansas City Star. The Jerry Heaster scholarship was created after his death in 2012 by his colleagues, friends and family to encourage students to enter business journalism.
“I think Jerry Heaster’s daughter, Hope, said it best: ‘Kelly is like my dad.’,” said Randy Smith, Missouri School of Journalism professor and the Donald W. Reynolds Endowed Chair of Business Journalism. “Like Jerry Heaster, Kelly has worked hard at an off-campus job to afford her education. She has excelled at business journalism, and her new-found passion has provided new employment opportunities.”
This summer, Kullman is working as a reporter at the School’s Missouri Business Alert, a digital newsroom that publishes the top business news from across the state. Since its inception in 2012, the newsroom has had over 450 students have kept business decision makers and entrepreneurs informed about the stories important to them, from corporate boardrooms to the state Capitol. She is also working as a researcher for Christopher Leonard, BJ ’98, author, journalist and executive director of the School’s Watchdog Writer’s Group .
“Kelly is an excellent example of how quickly students grow at our school,” said Smith.
Updated: November 13, 2020