News & Media Fellows

Jakob Cordes is a junior from Yorktown, Virginia majoring in International Relations and pursuing a minor in Creative Writing. He is the Director of Communications for the Podcasting Network at William and Mary, and a contributing member of Talking TWAMPs, the organization’s flagship podcast. He has also contributed to The Gallery and Winged Nation, two campus literary magazines. During what little free time he has, Jakob enjoys sailing on the York River, playing DnD, and practicing the piano. This summer Jakob looks forward to bridging the gap between his studies in politics and creative media, and to spending some time at DC’s museums.

Leslie Davis is a sophomore from Burke, Virginia majoring in government and data science. She is the Social Media Editor of The Flat Hat and regularly writes for the news section, covering social issues stories. Her work has been published in The Connection Newspapers and The Washington Post. Leslie is a member of The Social Networks and Political Psychology lab on campus, where she studies American political behavior. In her spare time, she plays on the Ultimate Frisbee team. Leslie is excited to be immersed in the DC world of journalism as a News and Media fellow, especially as she aspires to be an enterprise reporter or data journalist.

Jasmine Geonzon is a sophomore at the College from Virginia Beach. She is a double major in Sociology and American Studies. With a concentration in social problems, policy, and justice in the former and a focus on digital culture in the latter, the News & Media Institute will serve as the great nexus in connecting her academic interests.  On campus, Jasmine is a member of a social sorority, the Tribe Ambassador Program with the Admissions Office, and William and Mary's student-run television station, WMTV, where she is currently developing her own comedy show. Jasmine looks forward to learning more about the constantly changing relationship between new media and social movements.

Blair Houska is a sophomore at the College from Warrenton, Virginia. She is currently double majoring in Marketing with a concentration in Management and Organizational Leadership and Psychology. On campus, she is a Tribe Ambassador for The Office of Undergraduate Admissions, a member of a social sorority, and a member and Web Master of the William and Mary Women’s Chorus. She also loves to cook and bake and volunteers as a cooking shift leader for The Campus Kitchen at W&M in her spare time. This summer, she is excited to learn about possible career paths involving her intersecting interests of marketing, media production, and management while experiencing the culture and excitement of living in D.C.!

Olivia Manousos is a sophomore at the College from Verona, New Jersey. She is currently majoring in Government with a minor in Economics. On campus, she is an Undersecretary of Programming and Events for Students Assembly and a member of the club volleyball team. In addition, she is a tour guide and a member of fraternity and sorority life. In her free time, Olivia loves watching reality TV, going to athletic games, and scrolling endlessly on Twitter. She is excited to spend the summer in Washington D.C. and explore government through a new(s) perspective!

Maggie More is a junior at the College, living in Chesapeake, VA but originally from Frederick, MD. She is an English major and future Data Science minor. She spends four hours in the Campus Center basement every Monday night as the Associate Variety Editor for The Flat Hat, and has contributed to every section on the paper except for Sports. She is also the social chair for the William and Mary Club Quidditch team. In her free time, she works as an Archive Intern for Mugglenet.com, a Harry Potter news and fan site. When not doing schoolwork or contributing to her extracurriculars, she enjoys drawing, reading, drinking coffee, dramatically singing along to ‘80s music, and watching terrible movies with her friends. She aims to begin a career in print and/or digital journalism after graduation, and looks forward to spending the summer exploring how new media methods can be applied to the wide variety of stories that D.C. has to offer.

Stacia Phalen is a senior at William & Mary majoring in Film and Media Studies graduating in 2019 after just two short years as a transfer student. She grew up in Ashburn, VA before moving to Boston to begin college, and then to Williamsburg to finish it. On campus Stacia is the Co-General Manager of the Meridian Coffeehouse, a student run music and art space, a WCWM 90.9 FM DJ, Art Director, Staff Writer and Illustrator for Vinyl Tap music magazine, and a Video Intern for the Office of Undergraduate Admission. Off campus she can be found, coffee in hand, making Meridian show flyers, enjoying diner breakfast, or listening to true crime podcasts. Stacia has previously interned with WGBH in Boston with PBS contributor WORLD Channel and intends a career in arts focused public media in hopes to contribute to the growing democratization of high quality media. She hopes to find the makings of that career during her fellowship with the News & Media Institute this summer in DC.

Emma is a sophomore at William & Mary from Burke, Virginia. She is studying Linguistics with a focus in Sociolinguistics. Emma is involved in the academic honors fraternity Phi Sigma Pi on campus and is on the Scholarship Committee. She is a Research Assistant for the Linguistics Department, currently collecting data about pet language! Emma also sings in the Botetourt Chamber Singers and loves to read 18th Century British literature. Her interests in sociolinguistics involves Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and the investigation of how language is used to reveal social ideologies. Emma hopes to apply this knowledge in her experience in DC this summer!