Find Heenan of We reer er ar ne mancgor, nd 1 am the editor-in-chief of The Flat Hat, William and Mary's) Ate you. twice-weekly student newspaper apelin, “foc & Sob Fredhqan year, [came to campus with an unexciting and strangely specific dream. Io Dit cha {we wanted tobe editor-in-chief of The Flat Hat. The pene college, I had stalked d ste erusing the website, reviewing the Wikipedia page, and even exploring fia presence. | liked eeine liked the idea of being a student ge of something, It seemed like a good fit i, oS ct ve the student activities fair rolled ardund,-L honed in on The Flat Hat’s table and ue filled out an interest form:The sheet said to note the sections that interested you: the options were news, variety, sports, opinions, and online. Teagerly checked off all five. I didn’t really want to write about sports. I didn’t have many opinions. I just wanted to be editor-in-chief ie qe go Upon being accepted into the paper's internship proGram, I came to an alarming. ee conclusiog I was terribly nervous about publishing my ‘writing. Having other people ead, edit, i rassing, Deadlines ultimately ‘ade ee wo Gh ? trumped my anxiety, though. The paper forced me out of my comfort zone in a way a my quiet, awkward freshman self could handle. section. I knew el to learn how to design pages in ordes editor. Unlike many larger collegenews very obscure power buttons). Fortunately, no one else applied for the position oi editor that year, and'T assumed control of the section in March. Over the summer, my co- ( @ editor was tFansferred to news in the wake of a staff member dropping out and I began ere operating the section solo. \ Thad fun in variety, which focuses on human-interest articles, arts reviews, and weird, y &% F miscellaneous features. I was especially drawn to the weird, miscellaneous features. I ¥ LF devoted an entire Halloween issue to my pet project of chronicling the ghosts of William 25 and Mary interviewee Creative Service’s “William and Mary Squirrel” via Twitter. © Y recruited an anonymous cartoonist who drew scary Pokémon characters and forced me to 2 FX] g0 on scavenger hunts to find his or her artwork tucked in nooks around campus. With x ¥ practice, my design skills improved. Past variety editors had typically finished up around midnight or one on production nights, Even without a co-editor, I was consistently esgetting out between nine and ten. By planning stories well in advance and frequently connecting with writers to discuss features, I improved the efficiency of the section Tloved my time in variety, but I knew I needed to eventually switch to news to get the experience I needed to achieve my dream of becoming editor-in-chief. In the spring semester of 2014, I became a news editor. News has more pages—including the intimidating page one, the only page that most people ever see. I couldn't plan news stories too far in advance. Gone were the days of getting out early. I had to learn to manage my time better. I strove to balance my academics with my extra curricular activities. Ghost stories and pun-filled headlines were a thing of the past. I began to appreciate hard facts and get excited over breaking news and investigative journalism, News taught me to investigate and question everything, During my time as news editor, I had the good fortune to cover some stories that led to unforgettable experiences. I became deeply involved in covering the ultimately futile efforts of a local Civil War battlefield preservation group. My co-editor and I interviewed student drug dealers for a series on campus drug culture. I visited the firing range at Fort Eustis with ROTC cadets for a feature I was writing. Thanks to a tip from a former Flat Hat editor-in-chief currently working as an FBI agent, | interviewed FBI Director James Comey, a Flat Hat alumnus who noted that paper staff had once offered him the position of editor. every Comi articles fell through and we needed to fill four pages. I learned‘ to put the needs of the I sit in an office from 5 pm the paper’s done on Mondays ai it pages and stories while running on little to no sleep. I’ve been in the Campus Ceptér at aden I’m ashamed—but probably not ashamed enough—to say that 'e fallen asleep [Link] office a few times. I've missed mnings and various important study groups and review Sessions. I like to complain to miy-itiends and classmates about the long a snow days and breaks, I find myself wishing I was in our dusty, cluttered office, désigning pages and brainstorming features and verbally sparring with other editors6ver who gets to control the musical selection. One ofthe best parts about becoming involved with The Flat Hat has been getti work with so many smart, talented people. These editors simultaneously challenge and port each another, all the while remaining enthusiastic about informing campus andcreating an excellent product, Recently, the paper transitioned out a brilliant senior staff Now, most of our section editors are freshmen. I am one of the only staff members with any editorial experience (and swipe access to the office). I’m so excited to work with this new group. Most of these editors are as enthusiastic and driven as I was three years ago when I decided I wanted to be editor-in-chief of William and Mary’s very old, oddly named student newspaper. ‘Thank you for ae FOR Whak A Aine Cain anemia Wok 'S Yow “ane z Editor-in-chief of The Flat Hat > Pal Nevec apply as a mom / employee ok your Curent Organizer ao rts poor taste