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HPU Senior Earns Prestigious Journalism Fellowship

Mayeesa Mitchell

Photo: Chad Christian
Henry Moslki will be working as a feature writer at
the Arizona Republic this summer.

As graduation day draws near, many High Point University seniors are preparing for life after college. 

One such senior is Henry Molski, a senior communications major at HPU who was recently selected to participate in the prestigious Pulliam Journalism Fellowship this summer.

“I actually figured out I had received the fellowship offer on New Year's Eve,” Molski said. “I was very surprised and quite excited to receive such exciting news on such a unique day.”

Since its creation in 1974, The Pulliam Fellowship has helped over 600 prospective journalists to jump-start their careers by giving them real world experience at major newspapers. During the 10-week fellowship, Molski will be working as a feature writer and storyteller at The Arizona Republic, one of the top 15 daily newspapers in the United States.

“While the program does provide ample opportunity to write for a professional publication, they also put fellows through extensive training,” Molski said Wednesday. “I hope that this training will prepare me an all-new ways to become a professional writer.”

But Molski did not always plan on being a writer.

“I originally came to HPU to be a sports broadcaster,” Molski said. ”It wasn't until I got into more journalism classes that I really found myself as a writer.”

In addition to gaining experience in journalism classes, Molski has served as a staff writer and editor for HPU’s newspaper, The Campus Chronicle.

“The more I wrote at school, the more I found a passion for writing and a desire to do it,” Molski said.

Molski attributes much of his success in becoming a great writer to attention from professors, especially his mentors Bobby Hayes and Nahed Eltantawy.

"Henry is bright, gifted, hard working and very talented," Hayes said. "I know he will go far in whatever he chooses to do."

Molski’s passion coupled with his talent for writing  helped him to receive a stipend from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting which allowed him to travel to and report from Scotland. One of the articles about Scotland independence was later published in the Huffington Post.

Additionally, Molski received the national Mark of Excellence award from the Society of Professional Journalists at the 2013 conference.

It was at that SPJ conference that Molski first heard about the Pulliam Fellowship and decided to apply.

"I applied for the fellowship due to the impressive credentials presented to me about the Pulliam Fellowship," Molski said. "The application that I filled out was one of the most extensive that I had to go through this past fall. They required an extensive portfolio and proof of credentials and work provided in the resume."

Although the application and interview process was extensive, it all paid off for Molski when he got a call from Arizona. 

"When I saw 'Arizona', I immediately rushed outside to get away from the rest of my family during the phone call", Molski said with a smile. "Of course, my mother still decided to watch out the window.  She said I had a huge smile on my face and couldn't stop rubbing my brow in surprise."

Now, Molski knows exactly what he'll be doing after graduation, but what comes after the fellowship may not be so clear.  

He said, "I expect this experience to be so unique, that it will change many of my views on what I want to do after the 10 weeks come to an end."