INDIANAPOLIS—After a long year running between committee meetings, searching for sources, and even catching an interview with Gov. Eric Holcomb, TheStatehouseFile.com is back at Indiana’s capitol building this January with 12 student journalists, both new and returning.

While TheStatehouseFile.com publishes daily throughout the year, Franklin College’s Pulliam School of Journalism offers a unique month-long reporting opportunity in January, allowing students to step away from their regular studies to report on an Indiana legislative session.

Franklin College journalism students working with TheStatehouseFile.com have been covering the legislative session every January since 2006. John Krull, publisher of The Statehouse File and director of the Pulliam School of Journalism at Franklin College, created the program to get more students hands-on experience with reporting and state politics.

“I’m proud that we are the longest-standing not-for-profit Statehouse news service in the state,” said Krull, “and that it has been Franklin College journalism students who have provided that service for nearly 20 years.”

This year’s group offers a unique blend of talents and backgrounds, with new faces from Taylor University and even New York City.

Schyler Altherr, 19, and Sanjida Tanim, 21, are bringing political science backgrounds to The Statehouse File’s newsroom. Altherr hails from Pendleton and said he’s excited to help inform the public about issues and changes facing Hoosiers today. In turn, Altherr also wants to become more informed about state government, growing his own understanding of politics.

Tanim brings big-city experience to the newsroom, coming from the Big Apple to report on the 2024 legislative session. Before graduating this spring from Franklin College, Tanim hopes to learn more about what goes on behind the scenes at the Indiana Statehouse.

“I’m excited to see lawmakers try to push their bills and how they go about the process in real-time,” Tanim said.

Hopeful social media strategist and returning student journalist Bessie Kerr, 21, is coming from Wilkinson to help grow her communication skills. The Franklin College senior said she also wants to become more confident in making cold calls.

“My goal by the end of the month is to be able to communicate better with people and to have a better understanding of the Indiana session,” Kerr said.

From just 20 minutes south of the Statehouse, Greenwood native Mia Frankenfield, 19, hopes to write accessible stories that people of various experiences can understand. Frankenfield said her goal for the month is to expand her understanding of Indiana law.

Fresh face Samuel Maurer, 21, calls Kingsville, Ohio, home but is bringing his Taylor University education to help cover Indiana’s 2024 session. While he said he’s had plenty of experiences as a student journalist, his time at the Indiana Statehouse will be brand new.

“I’m excited to be here this month because it will be really interesting to see the ins and outs of the Statehouse during a legislative session,” Maurer said. “I’m just excited for this experience as I believe it will be valuable as I continue to grow as a journalist.”

DeMarion Newell, 21, from Gary, said he’s looking forward to growing his understanding of how government works. Jaelyn Allen, 19, from Lowell, said she’s eager to get started and ready to improve her writing skills.

Repeat reporter Arianna Hunt comes from Morgantown ready to report with The Statehouse File for another session. Hunt said her biggest goal is to increase her writing speed.

“I want to get better at how fast I can get stories done. A lot of the time, I freeze up or don’t have a streamlined enough process, so I want to get into the rhythm of creating stories consistently,” Hunt said.

Returning reporter John Asplund, 21, from Bloomington, is excited to earn more knowledge in his favorite sector of journalism, videography. He said he wants to continue to produce more content and challenge himself to create more multi-source video packages to show Hoosiers what’s happening at the Statehouse effectively.

Coming back to experience another session, Shelbyville’s Xain Ballenger, 23, is challenging himself to become less introverted. Ballenger also said he plans on trying to find common ground on divisive political topics.

Franklin native Ashlyn Myers, 19, is working with the team for the fifth time since starting at Franklin College. Myers said walking into the Statehouse still feels as exciting as it did when she started.

“I’ve had a ton of different experiences with The Statehouse File, and I’m so excited to keep that trend going this January,” Myers said.

“My goal is to find a specific issue or two to focus on and follow them to the end of the session this March. I’ve written about so many different issues, but I’d like to flex that investigative journalism muscle next.”

Senior Kyra Howard, 22, began reporting for The Statehouse File on Election Day 2018. She was a senior at Plainfield High School at the time and later committed to Franklin College. This is her last session with TSF before she graduates in May with her psychology and multimedia journalism degree.

“After working with the Statehouse team, I knew Franklin was the right choice for me,” said Howard. “The program allowed me to be a journalist and gain real-world experience from Day 1.”

​​What can you expect from 2024’s repertoire of students? Krull says the future of the program is bright.

“You know, the cliche I have always used with this is that we seek to tear down the walls and make the world a classroom,” said Krull. “And this is the best example of that.

“In [the] nearly 20 years we’ve been doing this, I’m not sure many students have emerged with more confidence in the processes of government, but almost all of them have emerged with far greater confidence in their own abilities and their own capacities. And that’s what we seek.”