Carly Gist, a third-year journalism major with a news editorial specialization, spent part of her summer in a three-week journalism study program in Germany. While in Germany Gist’s visits included the Wartburg Castle in Eisenach and the Welt TV studio in Berlin. (Main photo by Russell Bailey. All other photos provided by Gist.)
August 27, 2025
SIU journalism student sharpens career focus with elite German fellowship
CARBONDALE, Ill. — During her three weeks of concentrated study of journalism in Germany, Southern Illinois University Carbondale student Carly Gist found the passion for her career choice only grow.
From “thoughtful discussions with journalists and political leaders” to shared concerns with German journalism students on issues of censorship, sensationalism, fake news, biases and the rise of artificial intelligence, Gist’s focus on her future is sharper.
“Oftentimes, we would get asked if we wanted to be journalists after all that,” said Gist, a third-year undergraduate journalism major from Evansville, Indiana. “And every time, the answer was yes. If anything, this trip made me want to stay in this field more than ever.”
Gist was among 11 American students who participated in a RIAS Berlin Commission ERP Transatlantic program in May and June, connecting American journalism students with their peers in Germany. The fellowship also gives students a historical perspective of Germany, World War II, the Cold War and the role journalism continues to play in the nation’s political landscape.
Germany doesn’t hide history
In addition to meeting with German university students, Gist visited different local and national print and broadcast journalism organizations and met with politicians during trips to Berlin, Chemnitz, Dresden, Eisenach, Erfurt, Hamburg, Leipzig and Magdeburg. Her visits included the Museum of Communication, the American embassy, German Parliament building, the Holocaust Memorial and Sachsenhausen, a World War II concentration camp near Berlin. The group also met with Felix Klein, Germany’s federal government commissioner for Jewish life in Germany and the fight against antisemitism, and she participated in a guided tour of a former East German Stasi prison by Peter Keup, who was a prisoner there for 10 months.
“Although it hasn’t been seamless, Germany works to not shy away from its past,” Gist wrote to RIAS of her experience. “It memorializes the Holocaust and reflects on its role in the wars. But in order to do that, history had to be recorded. There’s a saying that journalism is the first rough draft of history. If we want to continue learning from history, we have to continue recording it.”
Gist noted that each German household pays a fee toward publicly funded television stations while newspapers are run by private media companies.
“I learned a lot about covering international news and was still reminded how important local news is,” she said.
Gist was also surprised that unlike in SIU’s School of Journalism and Advertising, where students have myriad experiential opportunities while in school, students in Germany finish their undergraduate studies before getting hands-on experience with a master’s degree.
While the 11 students started as strangers “from all over America thrown together, we became really good friends really fast and learned to work together,” Gist said, adding she continued to learn to speak her mind. She extended their stay for 10 days to visit Amsterdam, London and Paris, where Gist met up with another student in the program.
Embracing opportunities
With a passion for writing but no prior journalism experience, Gist came to SIU Carbondale in August 2023. The collaborative and welcoming environment within the journalism program and university has been integral to her success.
A four-sport athlete in high school, Gist said her parents, Gina and Carl Gist, encouraged her from an early age to become involved in activities. In addition to her work this semester as deputy editor at the Daily Egyptian student newspaper, Gist is in the University Honors Program, a fiction editor for Grassroots Literary Magazine and a member of Alpha Gamma Delta sorority. She was part of a DE team that covered President Donald Trump’s inauguration and has worked as a freelance journalist for respected outlets, including The New York Times and Capitol News Illinois. She is also part of the Saluki Local Reporting Lab, a professional lab within the School of Journalism and Advertising. Her work was recognized earlier this year by the Chicago Headline Club and Foundation with the 2025 Les Brownlee Memorial Scholarship.
“I just don’t want to miss out on college opportunities and wanted to give everything a try,” Gist said, adding that it’s important to “not be afraid to put yourself out there.”
A glimpse into the ‘international arena’
Jan Thompson, director in the School of Journalism and Advertising noted Gist’s “outstanding past year as a journalism student in our program.”
“The RIAS fellowship is an international opportunity for her to broaden her scope,” she said. “The RIAS is highly competitive and virtually covered her entire time in Germany. The RIAS is important to our school as it helps our students understand the international journalism arena.”
William Freivogel, a professor in the School of Journalism and Advertising, noted Gist’s ability to take difficult issues — such as stories involving anti-abortion rights protesters’ attempt to have the U.S. Supreme Court hear their challenge to restrictions placed on protestors. In his nomination letter, Freivogel noted that Gist’s reporting on the case circulated around the state and nationally.
“I would say that only one out of every 100 student journalists could have mastered the details of the case the way Carly did,” Freivogel wrote. “In addition, she was able to report the story in a professional way, without betraying her take on the subject – not an easy feat. I know from experience.”
Additional program successes
Thompson added that The Pulitzer Center’s 2025 cohort of 49 Reporting Fellows includes two SIU Carbondale journalism students and a recent graduate: Jackson Brandhorst, Lylee Gibbs and Enan Chediak, who earned a degree in photography in May.
(Editor’s note: Gist’s last name is pronounced with a hard G, like gun.)
