Making waves in male-dominated fields is typically a struggle, but for communications graduate student Jadyn Maloney, she took up the mantle with ease. Maloney serves as the Student Government Association (SGA) president and works as an anchor for KTVE/KARD. She appreciates her “emotional nature” in these fields, valuing empathetic communication and leadership. Maloney speaks with new people daily and uses her role to advocate for students.
Her journey did not begin with multiple successes and an easy, spoon-fed life. It started in Oakdale, Louisiana, a town with a population of 6,700.
“I would say that I had it a lot nicer than I feel like some people would, especially in the super small southern towns. My parents did a great job raising and making me get out and do things that sometimes would be a little out of my comfort zone. I feel like that really shaped me.”
During her younger years, Maloney believed her calling to “help the community” surfaced through marine biology.
“I wanted to be a marine biologist. My friends would say, ‘A woman can never do that,’” she said. “I didn’t do that.”
Maloney mentioned what she would tell her younger, marine biology-focused self.
“I would just tell her that we did it,” Maloney said. “We always wanted to be a leader, but we didn’t know how to really go about it. We did literally everything we said we were going to do, even though some of it was sarcasm at one point. We didn’t really think that it was possible. We did it anyway.”
Maloney attended Oakdale High School, participating in cheerleading, BETA and other clubs. Thanks to her involvement, she believed herself to be capable of leadership.
Though her experience growing up was pleasant, Maloney struggled with not knowing much outside her small town.
“With all southern towns, there’s that stigma,” Maloney said. “I wouldn’t necessarily say that it was all so bad growing up. In such a small town, I was so used to seeing the same things or hearing the same things.”
After graduating high school, she began pursuing a communications degree at ULM.
Maloney joined a few groups on campus during her freshman year, namely Kappa Delta (KD) and SGA.
“Being in KD really opened my eyes,” Maloney said. “I know it’s so cliché— everybody says it—but I was able to surround myself with other women who had the same kind of ideals as me, like Lauren Fee.”
She joined SGA under Lauren Fee’s presidency in the 2021-2022 election year. Maloney felt grateful to have known someone on staff at that time.
“The last female president before me, I knew her coming into ULM,” Maloney said. “She was probably the only person I knew coming to ULM because we were kind of from the same area growing up. I remembered what it was like to be under her leadership, and I wouldn’t necessarily say I mirror her, but I remembered how she dealt with things.”
Having worked under three different presidents, she appreciated her time seeing each one lead.
“Ethan Estis and David Hernandez were both such great leaders, but I feel like no matter what president you get, it’s always a new set of eyes and ideas,” Maloney said. “I got into my sophomore year, and I was speaker of the house for College of Arts, Education and Sciences [CAES]. That’s whenever my eyes opened, and I was just like, ‘I can do this.’ I started as secretary.”
As secretary, Maloney fulfilled her duties under Hernandez’s presidential supervision, gaining experience under different types of leadership.
“I got to watch him be in that role and see what all he did and how he did things,” Maloney said. “He was a super big help before stepping in here. I did receive a lot of support from a lot of people because it had been so long since there was a female leader—let alone all female leaders.”
During the 2024-2025 election, Maloney ran unopposed as a presidential candidate. She now serves in her leadership position with vice president Hannah Habisreitinger, secretary Samaria Spears and treasurer Cassidy Walton.
“It didn’t set in until my sophomore year that I was capable,” Maloney said. “It really didn’t set in that I could ever be SGA president until the end of fall semester my junior year. There are always those few people that will undermine what a woman can do. But, as time goes on, we continue to prove that they are absolutely wrong.”
On March 21, the Louisiana Association of Broadcasters announced Maloney as student broadcaster of the year during its 2025 Prestige Awards in Baton Rouge.
Maloney began working with KTVE/KARD in November 2023 as a journalist, eventually moving to her position as a morning news anchor. In between morning shifts, she reported three days a week and anchored on the weekends.
“It’s a lot more personable than evening shows,” Maloney said. “Evening shows had to be so serious. It’s a lot of crying with everything happening, but we get todo different interviews and everything. We’ve had people cook on the show. It’s a lot of fun things to get the community involved, but it’s still like you’re hosting.”
Most people have someone they look up to in life, and the same applies to Maloney. She takes inspiration from Texas KRIV-TV evening news anchor Caroline Collins.
“She started out like me, although she’s a lot older than me,” Maloney said. “She went to college. She got her bachelor’s. She worked on her master’s and everything, and she started out at a small station, just watching. Now, she’s at a top market in Houston, and she’s killing it.”
Collins and Maloney follow each other on Instagram, although they don’t know each other personally.
ULM gave Maloney the opportunity to meet another woman she admires: U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow.
“I got to meet her again in Washington D.C., whenever all the SGA presidents go,” Maloney said. “She was in KD at ULM. She was single and widowed. Whenever I heard that the first time, I was like, ‘You would never be able to tell.’ It’s the way that she carries herself. She’s the epitome of being a strong woman.”
Letlow’s position as the first female Republican congresswoman for Louisiana sparked controversy across America. People believed her to be unfit for the role—despite having a doctorate and outperforming the second-place contender by $600,000 in fundraising— due to her sharing the same values as her husband.
“Being told that you aren’t a good fit for something pushes you to do it more,” Maloney said. “Growing up, I would hear, ‘Oh, TV’s not gonna work out for you. You’re from a small town. You’re from Louisiana. It’s not gonna work out for you.’ It only made me want to do it more. It’s well past time that we are recognized as people who can do whatever they set their minds to.”
Others believed Letlow’s mind, potentially riddled with grief, would not be able to handle the workload of a congresswoman. In an interview with Roll Call, California Rep. Mary Bono said many believe that hiring the widow prioritizes sympathy over candidate quality. Maloney does not believe people should be concerned with a woman’s emotional state any more than a man’s.
“People love throwing our emotions into things,” Maloney said. “They like to say we’re too emotional. Who would we be if we didn’t react in a certain way to things? That makes us who we are. It helps shape who we are as individuals. I would rather be too emotional than have no emotions or empathy for anything. I would take that as a compliment.
