From the crowds of thousands of aspiring journalists from 24 schools in the United States, 14 were selected to partake in a rare occasion, one of them a former Eagle.

Georgia Southern University alum Charles Minshew, a current student of the Missouri School of Journalism, was selected to cover the presidential inauguration alongside seasoned professionals.

This is the first time that PBS Newshour has offered this opportunity.

“I am nervous and excited because there are not many opportunities to cover historic events with PBS Newshour,” Minshew said.

The news director at the KBI Radio Station in Missouri nominated Minshew.

“Though the application looked at the past year’s work, the foundation for my passion started at The George-Anne,” Minshew said.

Minshew was a former Editor-in-Chief at The George-Anne and started working with Student Media his freshman year.

After graduating from GSU with a bachelor in political science, he is now enrolled in a Convergence Journalism Master’s program at Missouri School of Journalism.

Minshew is a teacher’s assistant at his school where he really enjoys teaching students new things. He is also an editor of a magazine at his school.

“Georgia Southern prepared me for things like this. It gave me confidence and knowledge to reach for things that may have not been available otherwise,” Minshew said.

The inauguration will not be the first time Minshew has traveled to D.C.

“In 2009 I was part of the “Eagles in D.C.” program, and I interned for Congressman John Barrow. So, Georgia Southern opened many doors for me,” Minshew said.

PBS Newshour partnered with 24 journalism schools for more than six months to cover the election process as a part of its VOTE 2012 College Tour.

“[We] looked for outstanding young journalists who could work in a high-paced environment and had a passion for politics,” Dr. Imani Cheers, director of Education Resources at PBS Newshour, said.

Lynda Kraxberger, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies and Administration at Missouri, said that Minshew has worked on many collaborative projects in convergence journalism and has a knack for leading a team on a project.

Minshew said he jumps at any chance for learning new journalism and reporting tools and is looking forward to the opportunity to learn these new tools.

The program is a four-day-long production camp located in Washington, D.C. where the selected students will be divided into various teams that will cover the different sides of media involved with coverage.

Out of video, radio, print and several other divisions, Minshew was placed on the print division.

Minshew said, “It’s helps whenever you apply for a job or an internship that you are invested and interested, that you are willing to learn more than one way to tell a story.”