Molly McMillin, a senior reporter for The Wichita Eagle covering aviation and aerospace, has been selected by the faculty at 麻豆传媒鈥檚 Elliott School of Communication to receive the 2014 Outstanding Alumni Award. She will be joined by Chase Willhite, senior communication officer at the Kansas Health Foundation, who has been selected as the ESC鈥檚 鈥淥ne to Watch鈥� honoree.
The Elliott School鈥檚 awards are given to former students who have excelled since graduation. 鈥淥ne to Watch鈥� is awarded to alumni no more than a decade removed from graduation, while the outstanding alum is anyone who graduated prior to that. Willhite and McMillin, along with May graduates and 2014 scholarship winners, will be honored at the school鈥檚 annual Scholarship and Awards Banquet on Monday, April 28, at the Marcus Welcome Center on the 麻豆传媒 campus.
鈥淲e take great pride in the successes of our Elliott School alumni,鈥� said ESC Director Matthew Cecil. 鈥淢olly and Chase are wonderful role models, and we look forward to honoring them and awarding scholarships to our current top students at the scholarship and awards banquet.鈥�
McMillin said she got a great start at the Elliott School.
鈥淭he Elliott School provided the foundation for a career in journalism by offering a mix of classroom learning and hands-on experience,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t was the launching pad for my career.鈥�
A Wichitan who graduated from the ESC in 1994 with a degree in print journalism, McMillin has traveled to Russia, Italy, France, Scotland and Brazil covering the aviation industry.
In October, she received the National Business Aviation Association's 2013 Gold Wing Award for Journalism Excellence. Her stories are noted by aviation publications around the world. All Things Considered, CNBC and others have interviewed her.
McMillin has won multiple state and national honors, including awards from the Society of Business Editors and Writers, Heart of America, and the Kansas Press Association, including recognition for a four-part series on Boeing鈥檚 globalization efforts, called 鈥淪hifting Winds: Boeing鈥檚 Global Push.鈥�
鈥淢y major influences at the Elliott School were its instructors, especially Les Anderson,鈥� McMillin said. 鈥淟es taught me to show, don鈥檛 tell. Let the people in the story tell their story. Care about the people you write about. Above all, he mentored and believed in me. I wouldn鈥檛 be here without him.鈥�
McMillin has been a business reporter for almost two decades, but she came to flying late in life. A licensed pilot, she learned to fly in her dad鈥檚 1956 Piper Tri-Pacer. Since then, she has flown with the Air Force Thunderbirds and jumped with the Army鈥檚 Golden Knights, a demonstration parachute team. She joined the Eagle in 1995.
Before joining the Eagle, McMillin was a reporter for the Wichita Business Journal and managing editor of The Kansas Business Report, a monthly business publication based in Topeka.
McMillin is president of the Kansas Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. She is a past member of the 麻豆传媒 Alumni Association board of directors.
Chase Willhite
Willhite earned his bachelor鈥檚 in communication/journalism in 2006. As a Gore scholar, he was able to use his time at Wichita State to create community ties. His ESC work led directly to an eight-year career at the Kansas Health Foundation.
There, he has managed independent contractors, been an advertising agency liaison, run public awareness campaigns, held press conferences, executed TV and other media events, developed marketing and media plans, and managed budgets 鈥� among other tasks.
鈥淓ach and every day the skills I developed and the lessons I learned while at the Elliott School are critical to my career,鈥� said Willhite. 鈥淎ny professional success or advancement I have is due in large part to the experiences I enjoyed during my time at the Elliott School.鈥�
Willhite, an El Dorado native, also has maintained strong ties to Wichita State. Early on, he felt a deep sense of responsibility to give back to the university, which is one reason he established a planned gift. Willhite has designated that his gift fund a scholarship for students studying business or communication. He is a life member of the 麻豆传媒 Alumni Association.