(Photo by: Jasmine Mills)

Hello, lovely readers of The Messenger. My name is Sammie Magee, and I am excited to introduce myself as the new editor-in-chief. I have been working for The Messenger as a staff reporter since October of last semester, and while I love writing articles, I cannot wait to step into this new leadership role.

I would firstly like to give a special thank you to Professor Michael Humphrey, the amazing advisor for The Messenger. I would like to thank him for believing in me from the start, and for encouraging me to apply for this position to begin with. I would like to thank our current editor-in-chief, Baptiste Raffin for giving me the opportunity to work for The Messenger, for always being a great friend and a good leader. I would like to thank our managing editors, Aubrey May and Seth Lampton, for consistently making sure things get done and being amazing friends to me. I would like to thank everyone on The Messenger staff, because nothing could happen without this team’s combined effort. Lastly, I would like to thank the Media Center Board of Advisors for their time and for this incredible opportunity they have given me.

I found my interest in journalism after creating my own 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Sammie’s Toy Drive. My nonprofit works with communities and individuals following tragedies. My interest in journalism sparked after seeing how some journalists function in this type of situation. It made me want to do the opposite of most–I wanted to be a kind, community oriented journalist.

Once I began attending JCCC, Professor Humphrey convinced me to apply for the reporter position. Once I got that, he started persuading me to apply for the editor-in-chief position, so that’s why he deserves a special thank you.

I’ve been very lucky to work with our current editor-in-chief, Baptiste, to learn how to make The Messenger successful. I’m so excited to continue the legacy that Baptiste has built, and to create my own legacy.

So, Cavaliers, you will be seeing a lot more of The Messenger, and we can’t wait to invite you into our brand new renovated Student Media Center. We have a lot of exciting things coming up, and I’m excited to share everything with you, our wonderful readers.

Cavaliers, with much love from your Messenger team, we’ll see you next fall!