Shannon Mahoney is a junior strategic communication, creative writing and journalism student. She is the editor-in-chief of The Miami Student. In this MJF Spotlight, Mahoney shares her experience at the newspaper and in the Department of Media, Journalism & Film. 

MJF: How did you become involved with MJF? 

Mahoney: I picked creative writing as my major originally when I started at Miami, and knew I also wanted to add strategic communication to supplement. I got involved with the student paper after taking JRN 102 during freshman year. That led me to add a journalism major as well. I am currently the Editor-in-Chief of The Miami Student, where I oversee the many students involved with the organization. I'm also a part of MJF’s Student Advisory Board, working with Dr. (Rosemary) Pennington and a small group of students to assess all kinds of MJF details that make the department such a great place for Miami students to learn. 

MJF: What is your favorite part of being editor of The Miami Student? 

Mahoney: I feel lucky to be able to talk with cool people all the time, whether that be about student activism, politics, culture, or even armadillos popping up in Ohio. I’ve been able to connect with the many amazing guest speakers that Miami brings. Most recently, I assigned one of my writers to interview Jim Cummings, voice of Winnie the Pooh. 

MJF: How were you involved with The Miami Student before becoming editor-in-chief? 

Mahoney: Before my role as editor-in-chief, I was a part of the humor and campus and community sections at The Miami Student. I joined the humor section my freshman year because I felt it best aligned with my creative writing major. Later on, I was convinced to write a story for the campus and community section as well. I became an assistant later that year and began to learn all the ins and outs of running The Miami Student. 

MJF: What are your career goals? 

Mahoney: I always joke that I have three majors and have no idea what I want to be when I grow up. I’ve wanted to write a book for a long time, and that is definitely still a goal of mine, but because of my strategic communication major, I’m also interested in working in public relations. I’m very passionate about education and literacy, so working in PR or communications for a non-profit like that would be great. 

MJF: How has leadership in the newspaper helped with your academic career? 

Mahoney: There is almost no part of my life that my position at the newspaper hasn’t impacted. It has made me a much stronger writer and given me the ability to write on a deadline. I’m always trying to recruit people to The Miami Student and telling them that “you get really good at writing really quickly” if you become involved with the organization. This leadership position has made me the person that I am right now. I don’t know what my life would look like without the paper, but it would certainly be different. When I started with the newspaper and majoring within MJF, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. It's such a wide topic, but it has been very fun to dive in and learn while doing.