Class of ’71 Belmont HS alum mentors next generation of journalists

For more than a decade, Class of 1971 Belmont High School grad Howard Wilkinson has been a mentor to young people interested in news reporting careers.

Wilkinson, a dean of political reporters/commentators Ohio, makes weekly visits to the student newspaper staff at Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati. He works for Cincinnati Public Radio.

On April 28, the Ohio Student Media Association said students at Walnut Hills had excelled in statewide competition (student newspaper, yearbook, and individual articles).

“I’m very proud of these kids,” sums up Wilkinson, Senior Political Analyst at WVXU 91.7 FM and an alumnus of Ohio University from the 1970s.

US News & World Report ranked Walnut Hills as the top high school in Ohio. Its journalism teacher is Samantha Gerwe-Perkins.

“A constant supporter has been Howard Wilkinson,” recalls former student Isabel Nissley. “It was really great learning from him in high school, he was a fantastic mentor, and he kind of encouraged me to see a future for myself in journalism . . .”

Nissley is an environmental reporter at WVXU in Cincinnati. She graduated from Walnut Hills High School in 2020; Ohio University in 2024.