Gabriela Kressley has been elected president of TKC’s SPJ chapter for the 2020-21 academic year.
Members of the student chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists at The King’s College elected Gabriela Kressley president for the upcoming 2020-21 academic year.
Kressley replaced outgoing president Jillian Cheney, who graduated from King’s earlier this month. Starting this summer, Cheney, who served as EST Magazine editor and recently named a Poytner-Koch Media and Journalism Fellow, will be working at Religion Unplugged, a non-profit news website covering issues of faith operated by The Media Project, also housed at King’s.
“I am honored to be named president of the student chapter of SPJ at King’s,” Kressley said. “It is important that all student journalists at King’s join the chapter and take advantage of all the benefits, including online resources and networking opportunities, that come with being a member. I want to thank all the members for casting their votes as we work to grow membership over the coming school year. We have a lot to look forward to.”
Members also elected Lauren Bannister the chapter’s vice president and Lydia Vreeman secretary.
In addition to installing new officers, the chapter co-sponsored a series of lectures and events with MPJI this past year.
The chapter screened two movies — in conjunction with NYCJ’s “Movie Night” — including the 1976 film All the President’s Men, which brought down the Nixon presidency, and the 2009 political thriller State of Play, featuring Russell Crowe in the role of an investigative reporter covering the suspicious death of a congressman’s mistress. The chapter also co-sponsors “Alumni Night” each semester, where TKC and NYCJ alums discuss what it’s like to work in the news media.
Several events that had been scheduled for this past spring were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic once classes went remote. The King’s chapter of SPJ — with support from MPJI — is very eager to bring more speakers and events to campus in the near future.
SPJ is the nation’s most broad-based journalism organization, dedicated to encouraging the free practice of journalism and stimulating high standards of ethical behavior.
Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to a well-informed citizenry through the daily work of its roughly 6,000 members. The organization works to educate current and future journalists through professional development and protects First Amendment guarantees of freedom of press and speech through its advocacy efforts.
For more information on how to become a member, please visit www.spj.org or fill out the application form at https://www.spj.org/joinapp.asp.