Hannah Stanley wishes she realized something much earlier in her journalism career: the importance of betting on yourself.
Stanley, a 2024 University of Kentucky alumna and the newest associate editor at Kentucky’s only statewide business magazine, The Lane Report, always knew she wanted to be a writer. She recalled being in elementary school and telling others that she wanted to teach English and write books, but at the time, she had no intention of being a journalist nor did she know the field was a viable option for her.
Fortunately for Stanley, an orientation tabling event at her alma mater, Mundelein High School in Mundelein, Illinois, introduced her to an elective course that not only taught students the basics of journalism — Associated Press Style, reporting and ethics — but also gave them hands-on experience directly through the school’s student newspaper, The Mustang. A friend who knew Stanley loved writing recommended she enroll, and she did.
Despite her initial apprehension, Stanley soon found herself “doing everything imaginable” for The Mustang, she said. Throughout her high school career, this included news reporting, feature and sports writing, designing, and eventually, leading the paper as co-editor-in-chief during her senior year.
“That’s when I was like, ‘Wow, I actually do enjoy journalism,’” Stanley said. “Had I not taken this high school class, I truly don’t think I would be in the journalism route nearly as much or even at all.”
The Mustang allowed Stanley to recognize that on top of using her own voice, she loved platforming the voices of her sources and educating her readers.
This motivated Stanley to study journalism at UK, though this decision was met with concern from those around her who did not see a sustainable career in her future. Trusting her instincts and craving an academic challenge, Stanley eventually elected to pursue dual degrees in communication and business, minoring in journalism.
Not long into her freshman year, Stanley accepted a paid reporting position for UK’s student newspaper, the Kentucky Kernel, writing several news stories and briefs a week. Hitting the ground running at the Kernel earned Stanley the title of assistant news editor by the first semester of her sophomore year, and soon after, she inherited the paper’s news desk.
“It was definitely a bit more than I was originally going for, but I also think that’s just how the world works,” Stanley said. “And if it thinks you’re ready for something, you’re going to get thrown into it.”
At the Kernel, Stanley found a community as well as a fierce knack for investigative beat reporting, for which she was honored with a first place Pacemaker award for Multimedia News Story of the Year on behalf of the College Media Association and a first place Kentucky Press Association award for Best Investigative Story or Series.
As her senior year approached, Stanley was asked to apply to be the editor-in-chief of the Kernel by Ryan Craig, student media advisor for UK. At first, Stanley said she laughed it off. But she had big ideas for the paper’s future and understood it was the logical next step in her career.
Her vision for the Kernel — which had been a weekly printed paper for several decades — included a near-total shift to digital coverage to address the changing media landscape and regular special section print issues. With the help of her staff and predecessor Rayleigh Deaton, Stanley prioritized short-form video content, broadcasts and podcasts to accompany daily news, feature and sports stories.
The efforts of Stanley and her staff paid off, as the Kernel amassed thousands of new followers across all platforms during her editorship and received a host of organizational awards, including a Multiplatform Pacemaker for the media outlet.
“I’m so grateful to say that I was able to run the Kernel and we saw so much success in it,” Stanley said. “It made me feel human, and it made me feel like I was in a place that I not only earned but was meant to be in. It doesn’t matter that I won whatever award. It matters that I was able to leave an everlasting impression on not just the newsroom but my reporters.”
Fresh in her position at The Lane Report following her December 2024 graduation, Stanley said she’s eager to take on the challenge of a different area of journalism than what she’s used to while bringing skills to the table that she learned from obtaining both of her degrees as well as leading the Kernel.
“I’m very, very grateful to even have an editor position after college,” Stanley said. “There’s a handful of things I want to help the magazine out with, one of the most important being a stronger digital presence because the potential is there. I think that’s one of the biggest tools I can provide for them.”
Stanley said she hopes that students and young media professionals will navigate the industry’s current landscape by recognizing their shared goals and values across platforms and publications. Moreover, she encourages them to take the same chances on themselves that she did, as the risk is almost always worth the reward.