Leadership
During my senior year, I applied and was awarded third place in the Editorial Leadership category for National Scholastic Press Association’s Best of the Best Awards. Attached is what I submitted as my application.
Leadership Philosophy
Fear of failure plagues creative thought and progression. However, this mindset has infiltrated into many publication rooms, including my own. As a leader, it is my role to shape the perception of failure from something that is feared to something that should be celebrated.
When I was selected for the Solomon Leadership Program in 2021, I was new to leadership. I did not understand the complexities and idiosyncrasies of leadership, or that I had the potential to tailor a leadership style which fit me and my vision. During the program I learned about eight pillars of leadership ranging from character to judgment through listening to guest speakers and discussing with my mentor and other fellows. It was here where I learned the term failing spectacularly, a term which encompasses my vision for shaping staff culture. Failing spectacularly flips fear of failure on its head and notes that each failure serves a benefit if it is bolstered by authentic effort. When we fail, we learn. When we learn, we can improve.
When I work with the staff, I encourage them to look beyond what they think they can do, and focus on what they are inspired to do.
Proudest Leadership Moment
When I first became an editor, I thought encouragement only meant positivity. I neglected the value of honesty.
Being a leader means seeking tough conversations, which I learned when I was working with a staffer who repeatedly missed deadlines. It was easy to make assumptions and cast judgment, but that served no benefit. When I pulled the staffer aside and worked to understand what was happening, I learned the truth. The staffer was grieving the loss of a family member, a truth I wouldn’t have known if I continued to place blame. Now, I seek the discomfort of difficult conversations.
Editor Manifesto
During the summer of 2022, I attended the Columbia Scholastic Press Association Editorial Leadership virtual conference. Throughout the week, I learned the value of leadership, how to navigate ethical dilemmas, and heard from fellow editors across the nation and took away insights from how their staffs were run. At the end of the week, I was tasked with creating an Editor Manifesto: a detailed plan regarding an area of our choosing. I chose to create a comprehensive plan for how I would navigate training heading into my year as Co-EIC.
Fostering Relationships
As an editor, I value the opportunity to play a larger role in the publication and have the ability of working closely with staffers and editors. My approach to forming relationships with staff members is to know them for who they are as individuals instead of just knowing them for what they produce. Through this philosophy, I have had positive interactions with staff members that built a strong formation that did not weaken when I did need to have difficult conversations.
Quill & Scroll Student Advisory Board
During my senior year, I applied and was accepted to be a part of the student advisory board for Quill and Scroll, a national journalism honor society that has chapters across the United States. Through this opportunity, I worked with fellow board members to expand the Quill and Scroll website to include resources for publication staff members and advisors. I spearheaded the initiative to develop a series of leadership videos for current or rising editors to equip them with the foundational skills integral to leadership, including how to navigate difficult conversations, coaching and mentoring staff members, and fostering a positive staff environment.
Weekly Agendas
Each week, my Co-EIC and I create agendas for our three weekly meetings. Our all-staff meetings are every Monday where the entire staff is able to come together in a shared space for cross-section collaboration. Our agendas for these meetings consist of all-staff reminders, important announcements, and instructions to facilitate communication among content collaborators. Our class agendas include weekly moose pictures, important deadlines, reminders about upcoming stay-afters, and daily class activities. Editor meetings are held each Thursday during lunch where the editorial board can discuss problems, solve conflicts, provide updates for each other, and find ways to improve the publication. The agendas for editor meetings include talking points to go over, and once we cover those main points, it is open for a group discussion.
Navigating Difficult Conversations
As an editor on both The Muse and Marquee, but especially as Co-EIC, I have approached a multitude of difficult conversations with staff members and editors. The topics of these conversations are expansive, ranging from stressing the importance of meeting deadlines, informing a staffer if their story was cut from print, resolving conflicts and miscommunication between staff members, and more. Although originally daunted by the idea of navigating difficult conversations, I have grown to realize that they serve greater benefit than harm.
Issue 1 and Issue 2
My co-EIC and I worked to lead the production of our first two print issues of the 2022-2023 year. Issue 1 was a learning process and taught me the value of communication and working collaboratively to execute a shared vision. To complete the issues, we had group critiques to improve all elements of the stories, we searched for inspiration for designs, and organized proofing stay-afters to ensure the pages are accurate and free of name spelling and grammatical errors.
Mini-Lessons/Trainings
Throughout my time on The Muse and Marquee, I have produced a multitude of training presentations to help the staff grow in various areas. A majority of the presentations I have made cover the foundations of coverage and writing, along with general training and information on the flow and systems of the publications.
FSPA District Representative
Last year, as District 7 representative for Florida Scholastic Press Association, FSPA, I have had the opportunity to expand my leadership role in the publication room to interact with other student journalists across Florida to work to create a spring convention that students from all over the state can come to and learn from. At our winter board conference, five other district representatives, three state chairs, and I spent the weekend brainstorming, pitching, and creating a theme for the 2021/2022 spring convention.
