Saint Anselm College alumna and senior reporter with New Hampshire Public Radio Lauren Chooljian Baer ’10 was recently named a finalist for the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in Audio Reporting for her work as the host and reporter behind The 13th Step, a podcast about sexual misconduct in the addiction treatment industry. The New Yorker, The Atlantic and Vogue called the show one of the best podcasts of 2023.
The history major has won numerous awards including the prestigious duPont-Columbia award, a National Edward R Murrow award, an RTDNA First Amendment Award and she has been recognized by the Third Coast International Audio Festival. Her work also has been featured in the New York Times: First for co-hosting Stranglehold, a podcast about New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary.
Chooljian grew interested in journalism after participating in the 2008 presidential primary debates as a student at Saint Anselm and through her work on The Saint Anselm Crier, the college’s student newspaper. After graduating with an Honors B.A. in History and a certificate in communication, she earned her M.S. in Journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in 2011.
Following graduate school, Chooljian worked as a reporter, producer and fill-in host at WBEZ, the National Public Radio affiliate in Chicago, for nearly six years where she covered City Hall and then-mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration. In 2017, she returned to her home state of New Hampshire to work for New Hampshire Public Radio.
Chooljian is now a senior reporter/producer at NHPR’s DOCUMENT team, a narrative-driven, long form reporting project. Her work as been featured on NPR, Marketplace, Here and Now, and in The Washington Post, among others.
On Sat., May 18, 2024, Chooljian will deliver the commencement address to the class of 2024 and receive an Honorary Doctorate in Journalism at Saint Anselm College’s 131st commencement exercises. Her persistence and courage as a journalist speak to the very heart of a Saint Anselm education – the pursuit of the truth.
This year the college is celebrating 50 years of full co-education and the inaugural year for the Jean School of Nursing and Health Sciences. Including Chooljian, five individuals who have distinguished themselves as nurses, educators, and humanitarians will receive honorary degrees during the ceremonies.
Updated as of June 10, 2024
Most recently, the International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF) announced Chooljian is one of three honorees of its 35th annual Courage in Journalism Awards, which recognizes remarkable bravery in the pursuit of reporting.