As journalism and media major Pierce Gentry entered the White House grounds as part of a scheduled tour of the press briefing room, Marine One landed on the White House South Lawn.
The graduating senior and the other college students visiting the White House that day as part of the 2025 White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) scholarship program were ushered outside with the press corps so reporters could interview the president before he departed to attend the pope’s funeral.
“I literally got the physical experience of what it was like to be in a media scrum at the White House,” Gentry said. “[President Donald Trump] stopped to take questions from the reporters in the scrum before he boarded Marine One.”
After participating in the scrum, they got to tour of the press briefing room as planned.
Gentry was this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association Carter Holland Memorial Scholarship recipient. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, alumnus and former WHCA president, Steve Holland, and his wife, Lucie Holland, established the scholarship in 2021 to support the next generation of UT student journalists interested in political and investigative reporting.
As part of the experience, Gentry met with various members of the WHCA, toured the White House and other federal buildings in the nation’s capital, and attended the WHCA scholarship luncheon and annual dinner.
“It was so fantastic,” Gentry said. “I was overwhelmed when I learned that I had been selected to represent the school to WHCA because it’s a huge honor. Only about 30 students are selected every year from around 15 to 17 colleges and universities across the country. So, it’s a pretty exclusive opportunity.”
This was Gentry’s second trip to Washington. His first was in 2024 as part of a School of Journalism and Media’s networking trip. One thing he took away from his participation in the WHCA scholarship program was that journalists have a duty to hold those in power accountable.
“We should not be intimidated by them,” Gentry said. “Remember, they are just people at the end of the day who have been elected to serve in an office, and it is our job and duty to report on them. I think that’s what this experience taught me the most.”
Gentry also visited NPR’s national headquarters while in Washington. As a reporter for WUOT 91.9 FM—East Tennessee’s NPR affiliate—he was grateful for the opportunity to visit the headquarters and observe how public broadcasting works at the national level.
He toured the building, met with Tamara Keith, the White House correspondent for NPR, watched a taping All Things Considered, and stopped by the desk used for NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts.
“As impressive and grandiose as it all was, what really struck me was how similar it felt to WUOT in tone and spirit,” Gentry said. “The skills taught in the School of Journalism and Media and at WUOT are foundational and make me feel well-prepared for maybe going on to a career in national news reporting.”