Claire Wilkerson
Spring 2026 John Jay Fellow
Hometown: Sachse, TX
College: Houston Christian University
Major: Theology
Claire Wilkerson is a recent graduate of Houston Christian University, where she studied Theology and participated in the Honors College, a Socratic, great-books program that trained her to read slowly, listen to other perspectives, and ask better questions. Immersed in the Western cannon along side a theological education, she developed a love for stories and a deep desire to understand the world through an informed and charitable lens. As graduation approached, she knew what values she cared about deeply but was still unsure of how to express those values in a vocation.
In the summer of 2025, Claire participated in the World Journalism Institute, a program for emerging Journalists hosted by World News Group. There, she discovered journalism as a craft that married her intellectual formation with real-world urgency. While reporting on developments in the pro-life movement in Iowa, Claire learned to analyze current events in light of the ideas, convictions, and moral frameworks she discussed in seminars.
She recently returned from Oxford, England, where she spent her last semester before graduation studying the works of C.S. Lewis. While in England, she had the opportunity to report on developments in legislation before the House of Lords to legalize doctor assisted suicide for terminally ill patients.
Claire is excited for the opportunities the John Jay Fellows will provide to continue pondering the ideas that have shaped our culture and using them to help make sense of the current age. After the program, Claire hopes to continue writing stories about things that disturb her, particularly if they bother no one else.