Outgoing Executive Editor Macy Strader will start graduate school at Columbia University in August.

Dear ETSU community and beyond,

For the past four years, I have been so lucky to call the East Tennessean home. This organization was the first one I joined, a month before stepping onto campus as a freshman. At the time, I wanted to prioritize writing, because that has always been my passion, but I had never truly considered being a journalist. I didn’t think I was cut out for a job requiring such a strong moral code, a willingness to speak out in the public eye, and a responsibility to relay hard topics in an appropriate manner.

Now in my senior year, having served two years as a writer and two years as Executive Editor, I look back at that time in my life with a sense of humor. I fell in love with journalism quickly, and with each assignment, I began to feel the natural calling toward being an advocate through this medium. Journalism is a way to uplift voices who otherwise may have never been heard, to strengthen community by working fast to inform, and to challenge understandings in the pursuit of creating a better world.

I am so incredibly lucky to have found this opportunity to make an impact on the world around me. The people I have met and stories I have shed light on over the years have shaped me into a better leader. I have cried in interviews, made friends, sneaked backstage at an event to get the scoop (but that’s our little secret), broadened my knowledge of our region, and learned how to navigate complex situations. Because of the impact the East Tennessean has made on me, I am pursuing a Master’s Degree in Documentary Journalism at Columbia University, an absolute dream program.

I’ve had so much fun working with my team. I’ve loved getting to hire new staff and watching them come into their own. I love seeing them go out into the world to do incredible things beyond college, and I love seeing how they make their impact in other spaces across campus as well. I can easily say that I have had the most impressive, professional, and genuinely passionate staff I could have ever asked for. I could brag on them individually all day long, and often do. But I am especially excited for our incoming Executive Editor, Katie McLain, because I know she will love this position just as much.

Thank you to my staff for inspiring me every day, to Don Armstrong for being an all-around wonderful adviser, to our office staff and lab students for pouring into the publication behind the scenes, and to everyone who has engaged with the East Tennessean as a reader. This is one of the hardest goodbyes of my life, but that is a testament to just how special this space truly is.

See you in the next adventure,

Macy Strader

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