I have always had a knack for talking to people. It may seem simple, but the most challenging part is grabbing their attention, maintaining it, and ensuring that they are truly listening to you. Growing up in Florida, I’ve always been told that I speak very proper English “for a black girl”. At first, it was weird, and it made me uncomfortable. But then I claimed the title, and I saw it as my identifying feature, something that I knew could take me far, which it has. I spent my childhood trying to find something meaningful to do with my voice. Unfortunately, I would sometimes silence myself to bring comfort to others. One thing I have come to realize is that powerful voices are meant to make people uncomfortable. I could use their discomfort to empower them not only to listen, but also to take action.
As a Public Relations staffer on the Marquee Yearbook, now editor, I have learned how to use my voice. The Marquee Yearbook is a student-led, collaborative effort. My specific role was crucial in ensuring that my peers' efforts to create the yearbook successfully reached every student at school when it came time to purchase the book.
My goals for the year were to build a brand for the Marquee, encourage recruitment, build engagement on our social media platforms, and serve as a liaison to the student body. It was very different as a staffer because I didn't have any authority to necessarily do what I wanted or lead the group because I, myself, was just a staffer, so what I did was push for my ideas, and that is what got me to get the editor position the following year. As editor, I wanted the brand of the Marquee to be prominent and identfiable, whether it be through video content, constant graphics, on the air talent, or going directly to the student body and asking questions. These things were ideas that stemmed in my sophomore year that I continued with in my junior year. As a result of these things, engagement on our social medias and website were very popular. We had people actually talking about the Marquee. We were going viral. I was so grateful that we were able to create such a large shift from last year: where no one even knew the difference between the two publications. We began to average 20k views on our profile which is really good granted that we don't post every single day. In terms of branding, the only thing we didn't get to accomplish this year was logo and overall thematic branding: selecting a color for the Marquee that is stagnant or at least a style. As yearbook, naturally, is a very fast paced class we didn't get the chance to really discuss it, so my hopes for next year is that over the summer it is something that is prioritized, so we can go into the year with a brand that the student body can begin to allocate to the Marquee.