Being the catalyst
As an introvert, I’m not a natural leader. But working with the “Bro Squad”, my fellow editorial staff, and staff writers has never been awkward. The times where I was able to teach a new concept or help someone discover purpose through journalism have been more rewarding than any personal award. Part of being a leader is being fearless and the first person to tackle things. And when someone realizes how much you care about your work it makes them just as ambitious– and that infectious energy and enthusiasm in our publication is something I consciously perpetuate. |
Two class sections
This year was the first time we had two class sections of newspaper. Unfortunately, all members of our editorial board, all except our sports editor, were placed in one class hour. Accordingly, it has posed its own problems in terms of working with our staff in the other hour and truly achieving a coordinated effort. Being back in-person for this change has been key though, as it has let me foster relationships with other students outside of classes– whether it be a quick question through email, a zoom call, or seeing them on a publication night. Having these two classes has been a huge development for our publication. In my sophomore year, our staff was comprised of mainly seniors and struggled to retain staff writers. Nonetheless, growing to two classes has allowed more diverse voices to mesh into The Emery, and more staff to continue carrying out our goals. We’ve added multiple editors– now having two news editors, two photo editors, and two social media editors. This may seem like a lot, but it’s necessary considering the size of our staff, and it never hurts to have more hands on deck. |
The best, and easiest, motivator
Increasing motivation can be hard to do. So why not use food? We provide food at every one of our stays late publication days and in general, our staff does other fun, relaxing activities, to contrast the pressure of our deadlines. Top right: My Co-Editor-in-Chief, Allison Mi, hands me a rice krispy treat, which we give to a staff member when it is their birthday. The rest of the photos are from our Oreo Tasting event in order for staff to hone in on their opinion writing skills.
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Mentor, mentee mainstay
Throughout all my three years on staff, forming mentorship groups has been constant. These let our staff writers get to know an editor better and let our editors get hands-on experience with leading. I devised these groups in the first semester of our year, and we used them for a couple of months until staff writers are more familiar with the newsroom. |
Infusing creativity however we can
I also believe that it’s a leader’s responsibility to instill creativity in their staff. This is why the majority of our class hour is independent work time, with editors moving around the classroom to check in on writers. Along with personal communication, I’m tasked with conducting mini-lessons and curriculum presentations, but we want these to be as interesting as possible.
Here is an example slideshow developed by our editorial board, teaching interviewing and pitching, with a Harry Potter theme.
Here is an example slideshow developed by our editorial board, teaching interviewing and pitching, with a Harry Potter theme.
Clarifying and resolving issues
In my first semester as Editor-in-Chief, I began hearing a recurring problem, regarding our turn in organization for writers being too complex. Prior to this, we thought it was straightforward, but we did use two different platforms in Schoology (mandated by our school) and Trello. To solve this, we arranged it so that everything is turned on Trello. Whether it be a social media post, an interactive story, an article of choice, or other content. Addressing these issues right away is a high priority for me as a leader because our staff shouldn’t have to worry about something as trivial as a turn-in. |
My basic mission as a leader
My advisor Sara-Beth Badalamente has two phrases she always says:
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