About Me
I fell in love with journalism when I was 16, and have been pursuing it ever since. Whether I'm chasing an investigation or getting to know subjects for a feature, there's nothing that makes me happier than telling people's stories
Education
Expected Graduation: 2028
The University of Missouri | Honors Journalism and Political Science Major
Reporting & Writing emphasis
Cumulative GPA: 3.97
2020 - 2024
Pleasant Valley High School | High School Diploma
Weighted GPA: 4.39
Unweighted GPA: 3.97
Experience
January 2026- Present
Reporter | The Columbia Missourian
Columbia, MO
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Report on city and county government
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Pursue independent enterprise stories on community members and issues
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Attend and write-up council, committee meetings
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Turn stories on tight deadlines
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Lead coverage with other reporters and editors
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Build relationships with local leaders and community members
January 2026- Present
Digital Producer | KOMU
Columbia, MO
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Write content for NBC Affiliate website based on news releases, social media posts
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Pull wire content for website
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Develop and post content for Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube
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Cut video from newscasts to accompany web stories
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Edit reporter web stories
May 2025 - May 2026
News Editor | The Maneater
Columbia, MO
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Oversaw staff of 30 news reporters covering campus and local events
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Led weekly pitch meetings
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Edited news stories for AP style, format, flow and accuracy with writers
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Collaborated with two co-editors and editorial board of 28
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Coordinated extensive coverage of student government election
May 2025 - August 2025
Communications Intern | Family Resources
Davenport, IA
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Managed Facebook, Instagram and TikTok accounts with combined 6.3k followers, leading to a 94% increase in views, 87% increase in reach, 100% increase in interactions and 166% increase in follows over four-month span
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Prepared monthly donor newsletters as well as weekly internal newsletters
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Created graphics and posters for community use
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Assisted in donor communications and event planning for fundraising gala with 400+ guests
May 2025 - August 2025
News Reporter | The Maneater
Columbia, MO
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Wrote stories on local news and breaking news beats
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Lead coverage of city council, mayoral, and school board elections
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Organized multimedia project to highlight student opinions during 2024 Presidential Election
Involvement & Leadership
August 2024 - Present
University of Missouri School of Journalism | Undergraduate Research Assistant
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Gathered and analyzed article samples using databases
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Recruited journalism students for series of panel interviews
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Wrote 24-page paper on media coverage of celebrity endorsements
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Presented at Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Midwinter Conference (March 2025) and accepted into AEJMC Summer Conference (August 2025)
January 2026 - Present
Kappa Delta- Epsilon Iota | Director of Philanthropy
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Plan and execute two weeklong philanthropic events for chapter of 300+ members raising funds for Prevent Child Abuse America and The Boys and Girls Club
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Coordinate semesterly dinner events for 300+ attendees
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Organize collaborative events to build confidence in local Girl Scout troops
December 2025 - Present
Mizzou Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE)
Honors & Awards
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AEJMC 2026 Southeastern Colloquium presenter
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University of Missouri Dean's List: Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025
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Accepted into 2025 Summer Conference
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AEJMC 2025 Midwinter Conference presenter
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University of Missouri Discovery Fellow- August 2024
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2024 JEA Student Impact Award
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2024 ISHPA second place Writer of the Year
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10 time published writer, Best of Student Newspapers Online (SNO)
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IHSPA Spring Contest 2024 First Place for Class B school news story for "Mishandled election recount leaves school board position undecided"
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IHSPA Spring Contest 2024 First Place for Class B social justice reporting for "'I felt like I was just a shadow': PV fails to meet expectation of inclusivity"
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IHSPA Spring Contest 2024 First Place for Class B staff editorial for"'I felt like I was just a shadow': PV fails to meet expectation of inclusivity"
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Editor-in-Chief of 2024 SNO Distinguished Site
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Editor-in-Chief of IHSPA 2023 News Team of the Year
Skills
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AP style
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Adobe suite: experience in Premiere Pro, Audition, InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop
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Content management in Blox CMS and Blox VMS (Blackbird)
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Airtable proficiency
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Canva for design and video
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Biliteracy in Spanish
Get in Touch!
I'd love to hear from you! Reach me here or at jaeajepsen@gmail.com
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Based in Bettendorf, IA and Columbia, MO