The Steamboat Institute recognized alumna Jillian Melchior ’09 for her achievements in journalism with the Tony Blankley Chair for Public Policy and American Exceptionalism Friday.
Melchior was honored at the institute’s Seventh Annual Freedom Conference in Steamboat Springs, Colorado as the second individual to receive the title. The collaboration will provide her opportunities to make television appearances, do more public speaking, and connect with people in the conservative movement.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Melchior said. “I was really impressed at seeing grassroots conservatives, business owners, entrepreneurs that want to make a difference in their country. It’s definitely mainstream American. I’m thrilled about that.”
Recognized for similar principles promoted by the late press secretary of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, the journalism fellow is deemed by the selection committee to espouse values such as strong national defense, free market capitalism, and limited government.
“We are incredibly proud to have Jillian Melchior as our 2015-16 fellow,” Steamboat Institute Chairman Jennifer Schubert-Akin said in an email.
Melchior does investigative reporting on fraud and abuse, environmental and energy issues, and organized labor for National Review. She has also worked as a foreign correspondent, reporting from China, Iraq, Ukraine, and elsewhere.
Though these are locations of which most do not typically think as strongholds for freedom, Melchior says these places can show the importance of American ideals for which Blankley advocated.
“As a foreign correspondent, it’s become very evident to me that when the United States is not playing an active role in global affairs and retreats, it creates a vacuum,” Melchior said.
She said her experience in the Ukraine “brought it home for” her.
“The United States has not stepped up as of late to help them out,” Melchior said. “I met so many young people who wanted freedom, want an end to corruption, want democracy and speaking for their country. I mean, clear expression of values that I learned at Hillsdale.”
Ultimately, this brings to light the United States’ uniqueness, according to Matthew Spalding, Hillsdale’s Associate Vice President and Dean of Educational Programs in Washington, D.C.
“Where better does America’s exceptionalism become apparent but in contrast to places like China and Iraq?” Spalding, a member of the Steamboat Institute’s Board of Directors, said. “Her work there broadened and strengthened her application beyond the abstract idea to the real world meaning of American exceptionalism.”
Becoming involved with the Steamboat Institute also provides a Hillsdale connection for Melchior through Spalding.
“It feels like it has come full circle,” she said. “It’s also interesting studying Aristotle and Plato, looking at regime structures. That’s a really helpful one for me because I’m certainly not an expert in every country I travel to, but just having that way of looking at what a government is helps me catch up.”
Previously, Melchior was a Robert Novak fellow and a Bartley Fellow at The Wall Street Journal Asia. Her work has also been published in Cosmopolitan, The New York Post, The Weekly Standard, Commentary, TechCrunch, The Detroit News, and elsewhere.
“Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with everything she’s doing,” Melchior’s brother Matt, who graduated last spring, said. “My sister is a rockstar when it comes to journalism.”