Kailey Krantz | 2023-2025 Staff Writer
I’ve been with PantherNOW for over a year and it made my time at FIU a little sweeter.
I entered FIU through a computer screen in June of 2022 as an English student. I went through the motions of taking my classes, meeting with my advisors and messaging my classmates from the comfort of my own home.
But home quickly began to feel like a gilded cage.
It wasn’t until my friend, Ana Mancebo, introduced me to PantherNOW did things started to look up.
However, I need to confess that journalism wasn’t always a part of my interests and it definitely wasn’t something I was expecting to do in my future.
As an English student, I am always writing so I thought it was going to be another paper for me to write. It didn’t help that I was programmed from grade school to write long-winded sentences to fill a word count or to answer every single question in great detail to prove I was smart enough to get a good grade.
Still, it didn’t hurt to try something new. In the Spring of 2023, I started working as a contributing writer.
I applied, trained and got my first big-girl job in the opinion section. Not only because it was the only one I could realistically do as an online student, but because I knew it was an important column to work for.
When I first met Alfred Soto, I told him it’s one thing for a professor to give an opinion about something that’s happening on campus, it’s another for a student to share their side of the story.
A student’s voice matters, especially if it’s about something that affects many of us.
I joked that I had become the Floridian Peter Parker during the first meetings of the onboarding process. We also joked about the uniqueness of my situation being a fully online student applying for this job but this actually led to an inspiration for my columns to be dedicated to sharing the perspective of an online student.
Soon, I started writing articles about politics, the environment, pop culture, lifestyle pieces and campus events. Everything that caught my eye and stories that deserved the perspective of a college student.
I liked that it gave me something to look forward to, something to break the monotony of sitting behind a screen and doing homework every day.
PantherNOW made me realize that there’s always a chance to explore new things and experiment in different industries.
It has allowed me to write the stories I wanted to tell and meet some of the most wonderful people I wouldn’t have met otherwise.
Thank you to all the writers, editors, cartoonists and mentors who have guided and worked alongside me throughout my time at FIU.
I wish all of our upcoming opinion writers the best of luck. I know there are going to be some challenges ahead, but make sure you look after yourself and keep going.
Your voices are needed here.
To everyone who has read my articles and shared them with friends, thank you for giving me the chance to share some of my diverse thoughts.
DISCLAIMER:
The opinions presented on this page do not represent the views of the PantherNOW Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect the perspectives of contributing writers and/or university community members.
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