To be honest, I love what I've been doing here in Abilene so far. I hope to bring more positive changes to the newspaper, but those two aspects are what I know for now. I myself (barring some major life-changing event or becoming a meth addict) anticipate working with this paper for several years to come. I hope to be one person to end that trend. From what I understand, the paper's staff has been a bit inconsistent for the past couple of years. Secondly, I want to be a stable position of leadership for this newspaper. With the temporary addition of Gail Parsons and Kathy Hageman and Lydia continuing to design the layout of the physical paper, I should have the time to edit stories efficiently. To start off, I'm aiming to increase the amount of editing time dedicated to each story. Let's start off with what I'm bringing to the table.

While preparing for my new role the past few weeks, I've had a lot of thoughts and emotions on taking this position that I thought I'd share with y'all. Lydia Kautz, our now former editor, is leaving for Nebraska for a position to further her career. Overall, I'm excited to learn about Abilene and meet the people who live in and care for this community.I am now the editor for the Reflector-Chronicle. Waynesburg is also where my wife and I met. I graduated from Waynesburg University in the spring this year with a degree in journalism.

For freelancing, I am the part-time copy editor for music news website and I write public relations pieces for music artists. My hobbies include reading, playing board and card games (looking for a playgroup by the way!), exploring music and cooking for my wife and I.

I love Jesus and believe he's my Lord and Savior. So while the area and job are new to me, I'm certain I'm prepared for the situation. The town of Waynesburg has a population of roughly 3,900. I grew up in a stone farmhouse in the woods. I've also lived and wrote about small communities my entire life. The last six years I have spent learning and working on getting where I am today. I am a bit nervous because of the unfamiliarity of a new home, new culture, and my first newspaper reporter job.Īt the same time though, I'm confident. There are many thoughts and emotions I have coming into this position of part-time reporter (maybe full-time eventually). A lot of coincidences, right? Overall, I'm grateful and excited life lined up for us this way. Third, the positions we have are what we almost wanted exactly, no compromises were made. Second, to find two newspapers that are within an hour's drive of each other that are also hiring is something we have not been able to find in the last six months of job searching across the nation. Major news corporations such as Gannet nowadays own most papers. First, we work for newspapers that are both owned by local businessmen. To be honest, all the details of finding our jobs is a bit of an anomaly, I think. Holly loves her job so far, and I've been able to find work in my field of choice. So far, the 16-hour move has been worth it. While Holly Hendershot is holding down the journalism fort 20 minutes away, I've come to write here. Hailing from the woods of eastern Pennsylvania, my wife and I moved to Junction City for her new position of managing editor for the Junction City Union. Well, two weeks ago, I made the move, and so far, I'm happy with that decision. 22-I would have never thought five years ago before starting college that my career would take me to Kansas.

Abilene reflector