Texas A&M University junior Ian Curtis ’27, who is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in journalism in the Department of Communication and Journalism, has been named one of 19 undergraduate students nationwide selected for the New York Times Corps, the newsroom’s talent-mentorship program for college journalists.
The New York Times Company announced the prestigious mentorship in early September, just days after Curtis stepped into the campus leadership role as editor-in-chief of The Battalion, Texas A&M’s independent, student-run newspaper. The New York Times Corps is a select program in which U.S. college students receive career guidance from New York Times journalists during a multiyear period. Since the program’s start in 2022, career journalists have supported nearly 80 students in the field through the program.
In addition to Curtis, the 2025 corps members from 19 U.S. universities will receive one-on-one mentorship with a New York Times journalist until graduation. The flagship paper’s New York City newsroom will also host the cohort on a trip to the Big Apple.
“Access to quality career guidance is one of the biggest challenges facing students seeking to be journalists,” Theodore Kim, director of Newsroom Career Programs, said in a press release. “This program is an effort to address that.”
First Steps In Storytelling
Growing up in College Station, Texas, Curtis can trace his passion for storytelling to the Aggie Football Hour at Rudy’s Bar-B-Q on Harvey Road.
“When I was in middle school, I'd go to coaches' radio shows at Rudy's with my dad,” Curtis said. Talking to experienced professionals like veteran broadcaster Andrew Monaco, the “Voice of the Aggies” for play-by-play and the host of the Aggie Football Hour, influenced Curtis to consider journalism.
Curtis recalled thinking, “Maybe this is something where all these different interests I have that involve storytelling could be a career?”
He earned his first reporter bylines writing for Wellborn Middle School's newspaper, which was published on office printer paper. “No one knew what they were doing,” Curtis recalled with a smile. He moved on to work at The ROAR, A&M Consolidated High School’s newspaper, first as a reporter and later as executive editor.
Curtis sought out every journalism opportunity he could find. In high school, he freelanced for the Bryan-College Station daily newspaper, The Eagle, and continues in that role today, covering high school football while managing Texas A&M’s flagship student publication. He spent his high school summers working in radio at Watch The Aggies Win (WTAW), the Newstalk 1620 AM and 94.5 FM radio stations owned by Bryan Broadcasting Company.
From Bylines To Editor-In-Chief
Once on campus, Curtis wasted no time starting his next journalism chapter. He earned his first college bylines during his New Student Conference, writing for The Battalion’s print edition the summer before he began his freshman year.
As a beginning sports reporter, Curtis covered everything from club hockey and gymnastics to Texas A&M soccer and women’s tennis before moving to Aggie men’s basketball. He then began working on feature stories, first as a writer and then as an editor. A shift in leadership in the summer of 2025 opened the door to the managing editor role, and soon after, he was named editor-in-chief for the fall 2025 semester.
Curtis has won awards in all the major college association contests, including College Media Association Pinnacle Awards, Texas Intercollegiate Media Awards, Associated College Press Story of the Year, and Associated College Press Clips & Clicks.
He is most proud of winning in contest categories; he is a finalist in three categories for the 2025 Associated Collegiate Press “Story of the Year,” including the following:
- The Ernie Pyle Human Interest Profile category for “Our Job is to Love People,” a feature about a frontline humanitarian aid organization Free Burma Rangers, which operates in conflict areas
- Sports Feature Story category for “Making Maichon”
- Sports Game Story for “Taylor-Made History: A&M Takes Down No. 1 Auburn” with fellow Battalion staffer Chris Swann.
Looking ahead, he is eager to continue learning and expanding his perspectives through the New York Times Corps mentorship program. While he can’t predict his next step after graduation, he has a clear vision of his ultimate goal: a career in which he can focus on telling impactful stories.
“My vision is to find a place where I can tell in-depth and entertaining stories that make a difference,” he said.