April 24, 2026
Story by Tony Rehagen, BA, BJ ’01
Late one evening in February 2021, Charlotte Cicero heard that a high-profile athlete had been involved in a single-car accident near her home in Southern California. The 17-year-old immediately messaged her friends to ask if anyone had a good camera. The makeshift news team arrived on the scene just as cable sports media and local TV network affiliates were setting up their live feeds. Cicero began posting early reports on social media. She was just in high school.
Crew in tow, Cicero followed the scrum to the nearby sheriff’s office, where authorities were portioning out bits of official information about the crash. She paused to look around at the newscasters, many of them women, who were plying their trade.
“That’s when I knew I wanted to pursue journalism,” Cicero says. “That’s when I knew I wanted to tell stories for a living.”
It didn’t take long for her to discover the University of Missouri School of Journalism and its real-life laboratory for broadcast journalists, KOMU. But to get there without financially burdening herself and her parents, she was going to need help.
Looking over the university’s online list of scholarships, one caught her attention: the Gordon L. McKenzie Scholarship, awarded to students pursuing a degree in journalism, public relations or advertising based on their academic achievement and professional potential.
“I was happy to see and apply for this scholarship,” Cicero says. “I’m thankful for those who value the future of journalism, and in this case, I was inspired by the story.”
The story of the Gordon L. McKenzie Scholarship at Mizzou doesn’t start with a journalist or a Mizzou alum. It doesn’t even start with journalism school graduate Gordon L. McKenzie, MJ ’81.
Gordon’s father, Malcolm M. McKenzie, grew up in rural Illinois during the Great Depression. His parents had gone to college, and they wanted the same for their son. However, they had lost ownership of their farm and were renting the land they tilled. Despite the hardship, they successfully saved for Malcolm’s college tuition. Still, he had to work part-time as a draftsman to pay for books and other essentials. After graduation, he took a job in the metallurgical labs of Caterpillar Tractor Co. before serving in the U.S. Air Force during World War II.
After the war, Malcolm moved to Des Moines, Iowa, for graduate school. From there, he built a reputation as one of the most prominent stockbrokers in the country.
“He knew the value of a college education,” Gordon says. “As someone who helped clients with investments, he also knew that the money he had put in an IRA would be better spent — less taxed — if it was donated. He set up seven funds: one for our church; two for scholarships to his college alma maters, Bradley and Drake; and two each for the schools my sister and I attended.”
After earning his bachelor’s degree in editorial news, Gordon came to Mizzou for a master’s in journalism, with a focus on public relations and advertising.
“I was fortunate that, because of the experience my dad had, he made sure there was money to send us to school,” Gordon says. “Having a scholarship is a great way to give back to the institution and help the next generation. And maybe down the road, they’ll consider doing the same.”
For her part, Cicero certainly hopes to have the means to create a scholarship for future students like herself one day. After graduating in May, she’ll pursue her master’s degree at Mizzou. She is open to the possibility of one day returning to her alma mater as an educator. Until then, she feels that the best way to honor the scholarship and the opportunities it created is to do the work she loves.
“Storytelling is a powerful thing,” Cicero says. “I believe there’s a story in everything, and I work to make humans the center. If you share the lived experiences of people, others will relate. This will bring us closer together.”
