Nick Hayman (’23), a WFU Journalism minor, was recently published on NBC Sports with a story originally written during Prof. Barry Yeoman’s Magazine Writing class in Spring 2022. Hayman’s story, which you can read here, revisits WFU Women’s Golf athlete Rachel Kuehn’s (’23) experience at the Augusta Women’s National Amateur in 2022 and provides thoughtful insight into the professional, as well as recreational, growth of women’s golf over the last decade.

On his decision to pursuing publishing the story, Hayman explains, “I initially wrote this article for my final project in Barry Yeoman’s Magazine Writing class last spring. After concluding the course, I felt great pride in my work and wanted to find a way to share it with the world. I reached out to Rachel’s teammate on the Wake Forest Women’s Golf team, Emilia Migliaccio, who previously worked as a reporter and staff writer at the NBC Sports/Golf Channel. Emilia was incredibly helpful, and connected me with her editor at the Golf Channel/NBC. After a long period of editing and another brief interview with Rachel, I was able to re-work the article to serve as a lead-up for this year’s edition of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. I am so glad that we were able to share Rachel’s story, and I will be rooting hard for Rachel and the other Deacs competing in the ANWA this week!”

“Nick started with a big question: While the Covid-19 pandemic was shutting down most aspects of American life, what does it mean that golf was experiencing a surge of popularity?” comments Prof. Yeoman. “Human beings think in narratives, and Nick found some compelling stories to answer the question. After the semester, he tailored one of those stories to the publication’s editorial needs. This is what professional journalists do, and I’m proud of him for seeing it through.”