Growing up in Florida gives you an odd sort of nonchalance about disaster. Will I make it through this hurricane? Maybe. Will I survive rush hour traffic? Get attacked by an alligator? Embarrassed by my government representative? Eh, they’re all options, really.

 

But when it comes to politics, this swing state comes alive. By middle school I was an activist, heading to Tallahassee with a bus full of other pimply children to protest the school board. My community taught me social responsibility and the power of my voice early, so it didn’t take long for me to realize that journalists are activists too.

 

In high school I began my journey into representative journalism, writing stories for the South Florida Times that centered on marginalized communities. At the University of Florida, I began a column at my student newspaper based on the question, “Who does this campus really support, and do they look like me?” The next summer I battled traffic again as a breaking news and feature intern at the Miami Herald before heading back to the swamp as the Gainesville Sun newspaper’s news intern.

 

But my time at Architectural Record was my first deep dive into magazines. I fell in love with the pace, the opportunity to find yourself in a publication’s voice and to really cater to your reader. In one summer, ASME gave me the gift of discovery. Every day at my publication brought new experiences and insight into how production works. One day, I was the fact checking queen. The next? Magazine layout protégé.

 

I’m leaving ASME with the confidence to pursue my passion and the skills to get me there. There are not enough inches on this little bio page to say thank you to everyone who mentored me this summer, but I hope they know I’m endlessly grateful.

 

In my free time, catch me laughing at rude comments on Twitter or obsessing over Pass That Book, my charity that donates diverse children’s books.  If I’m not struggling to grow my succulents, I'm probably reading books with soul sucking endings or thrift shopping in ungentrified stores.