John Carroll University senior Aiden Keenan is the 14th recipient of the 2022 NBC/John Carroll University “Meet the Press” Fellowship.
The fellowship is exclusive to John Carroll University students and was first awarded in 2009 in honor of Tim Russert ’72, who passed away in 2008 following more than 16 years at the helm of “Meet the Press.” The University’s Department of Communication also bears his name.
Keenan, a Communication and Political Science double major with a minor in Peace, Justice, and Human Rights was the class president of John Carroll University’s student government during the 2021-2022 academic year. Among many other accolades, he was awarded the Tim Russert Department of Communication Academic Excellence Award in 2022.
"I am honored to be selected as this year's Meet The Press Fellow and am humbled to work with the incredible team at NBC,” Keenan said. “I have always loved working as part of a team to produce important shows for engaged audiences and am looking forward to being able to apply lessons that I've learned at JCU to Meet The Press. I am so excited to learn from and work with everyone at NBC and am thankful for this opportunity and the support of the JCU community over the years!"
Keenan’s on-campus involvement extended to The Carroll News, where he was a photo editor and staff reporter, and the speech and debate team, where he earned several awards of excellence, including second place in the 2022 Ohio State championship for impromptu speaking. Keenan held several internships during his time at John Carroll, highlighted by positions at Capitol Partners, University Heights City Hall, and WSYR News Channel 9.
Keenan's many other activities on campus have led to equally impressive outcomes, including: Washington Media Scholars Foundation Media Fellow (Nov. 2021), Tim Russert Department of Communication Kathryn E. Dolan Communication Memorial Scholarship (Nov. 2021), Lambda Pi Eta Communication Honor Society Inductee (Nov. 2021), Order of Omega Honor Society Parker F. Enright Scholarship (Apr. 2022), and JCU Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life Fraternity Legacy Award (Apr. 2022).
The NBC/JCU Meet the Press Fellowship is a nine-month position at “Meet the Press,” the top-rated Sunday morning public affairs program and the longest running television program in the world.
Learn more about the fellowship and see where the previous fellows are now by visiting the JCU Meet the Press webpage.