Each year, The Panther releases applications for staffers to apply for the leadership team. As a student-run class, leadership positions hold extreme merit, including the responsibility to run individual teams and the duty to set an example for the rest of the class. 

The following students selected for The Panther’s leadership exhibited extreme talent and dedication throughout the year as well as in their application. They will “shadow” the student currently in their respective position for the rest of this month to learn the ropes before fully taking over on May 1. Some staffers will fulfill the same leadership positions as this year and will engage in other preparations and team building before next year.  

Amy-Grace Shapiro, Editor-in-Chief 

This past year, The Panther had two Editor-in-Chief positions sharing equal authority, yet the current seniors on leadership decided to bring back the old structure with one main EIC. Miami Palmetto Senior High junior Amy-Grace Shapiro and current Online Co-EIC has excelled to the highest position on the newspaper. As a past multimedia photographer, Feature Editor and Online EIC, Shapiro has dipped her toes into various teams and sections of the paper, setting a strong foundation for leading the newspaper as EIC next year. 

“Being a Co-EIC this year, I feel there was no better way to prepare for my upcoming endeavors as Editor-in-Chief. I’ve spent the past year running our online affairs, and it has truly been one of the most rewarding experiences. Being one of the first freshmen welcomed to staff and one of the youngest EICs my junior year, my time on The Panther has always been a dream come true,” Shapiro said. 

As one of the two members on staff who joined as a freshman, Shapiro has seen the newspaper through different stages and has developed plans of her own to improve the publication.

“As Editor-in-Chief, I really look forward to diversifying our reach as a publication to a variety of disciplines and perspectives. One of my main goals is to inspire The Panther staff to value the importance of journalistic integrity. I hope to leave a lasting legacy and impact like the many trailblazing EICs did before me,” Shapiro said.

Shapiro looks forward to guiding The Panther’s staff and introducing the countless newspaper traditions and activities to newcoming staffers. The multifaceted aspect of an article, simultaneously containing copy editors, photos and design, creates a close bond between staffers as they learn to tie their different mediums together and engage in class comradery.   

“My favorite part about being in newspaper is the sense of community and family that The Panther creates, and I cannot wait to bring new staffers into our family next year. In my past three years on staff, I have been able to speak with really interesting individuals such as a Florida State Senator, influential artists, activists and community leaders while sharing their stories. Overall, being a part of The Panther has allowed me to explore my passion for journalism,” Shapiro said. 

Sofia Strohmeier, Online Editor-in-Chief

Joining the newspaper as a junior, Strohmeier dove head first into The Panther as a copy editor and earned herself the position of Online EIC next year. Strohmeier’s copy editing skills will translate to her position next year as she reviews and edits each online story before it appears on the website. 

“I feel that as a copy editor I had a great foundation by learning [Associated Press] style and having to edit almost all the stories that go up. I’m always keeping up with both online and print in the paper, and I think that definitely has prepared me to be Online EIC because of the organization and attention to detail I have as a copy editor. I felt extremely involved with my current role since I edited almost daily and that made me fall in love with the publication, which led me to apply for leadership,” Strohmeier said. 

Strohmeier’s position entails providing guidance during the writing process, overseeing the journalistic integrity of the website and ensuring the content of The Panther’s stories are accessible to the MPSH community. As a staffer this year, Strohmeier witnessed Shapiro in this role and plans to use her journalistic foundation and creativity to implement new ideas next year. 

“Next year I definitely want to promote our website more and make sure more people at our school know about it to increase our readers. There’s always something we can do to put ourselves out there more, whether that’s posting on social media or spreading our news on the morning announcements. Overall, I want to continue the tradition of The Panther in creating a reliable news source for people in our community, and making The Panther a vital part of MPSH,” Strohmeier said. 

Online EIC often means posting stories around the clock to maintain the almost daily news cycle The Panther has established. No matter the time, Strohmeier feels excited to take on this new role.   

“I’m very excited to start overseeing the online portion of our publication because it is something so essential for us students to spread important news and just report on things going around at school, and being the head of that is just so amazing. Working as Online EIC, I really want to be someone that other staffers can look up to for help and I want to give them support in their writing and roles in newspaper as a whole. I’m also really excited to work with the new leadership team since everyone is so incredible at what they do; I think we’re going to make a really great team and lead an amazing publication working together next year,” Strohmeier said. 

Isabella Hewitt, Print Editor-in-Chief 

Hewitt applied for The Panther before stepping foot in high school, and developed a strong passion for journalism since then. As the other staffer who will be the first to complete four years on staff, Hewitt has explored many different aspects of The Panther from two years as a multimedia photo editor and as a Contents Editor. Hewitt plans to apply her creative eye and copy-editing skills to run the print cycle. 

“Being a multimedia photo editor from my freshman to sophomore year allowed me to master the art of captivating a picturesque moment that gives justice to a situation and story. Multimedia strengthened my creative eye in ways I couldn’t have imagined. Then, as Contents Editor my junior year, I learned how to catch mistakes, run a section and a staff, as well as copy edit to my full potential,” Hewitt said. 

As Print EIC, Hewitt takes on the task of ensuring the writing content, photography and design of all printed copies of the monthly issue. Additionally, Hewitt must coordinate with a printing company and send the final PDF on time, or else financial repercussions or delays in distribution may occur. No matter the task, Hewitt feels excited to take on the position next year and implement new ideas. 

“I am so excited to work with the entire staff and my fellow leadership to reach The Panther’s fullest potential,” Hewitt said. “Next year I hope to make our newspaper more interactive overall. I’d love to broaden our distribution, social media presence and so much more.”

Hewitt plans to send any extra copies to local restaurants or businesses. Additionally, Hewitt will work closely with Senior Multimedia and Senior Design, as all three aspects intertwine heavily during the print cycle. For staffers, it remains a rewarding experience to see their name in a printed issue around the school, in classrooms or in the hands of students in the hallways. Through Hewitt’s leadership, this gratifying experience will only continue next year. 

Ava Garcia, Managing Editor

While the role of the Managing Editor has traditionally entailed both social media and implementing staffers’ grades, next year the Managing Editor will focus solely on social media while grading responsibilities are delegated to the EICs. Considering that Garcia held the position this past year, this change in duties will open more opportunities to expand social media platforms and centralize the grading aspect of the paper. 

“Since I will be Managing Editor again next year, I’m mainly excited to expand all aspects of our social media. I mainly really want to start a TikTok account and change the layout of Instagram. I’m also so excited to work with all of [the] new leadership and bounce off of each other’s ideas,” Garcia said. 

While The Panther posts almost daily online and monthly print issues, publicizing the content remains crucial for it to reach readers and its desired audiences. As Managing Editor, Garcia will continue posting each story to social media, announcing upcoming projects and providing links in our bio to ensure our publication’s accessibility. This year, Garcia’s posting allowed The Panther’s Instagram followers to amount over 1,000, and through her social media and journalistic experience plans to increase the outreach of The Panther’s content. 

“My main goal for next year is to start a TikTok that everyone in the class can use in a creative way to get the word out about our publication. I’m also very excited for the print cycles as well as the designs and multimedia aspects of it,” Garcia said. “My favorite thing to do ever since I was little was write anything; songs, stories, poems, and by joining The Panther I got to fill that passion by being able to write stories that are published on our website and through our print cycles, which has been a dream come true.”

Considering stories get posted almost daily, Garcia’s timeliness has aided her with creating templates and almost instantly posting stories to socials. Through her experience, dedication and cooperation, Garcia feels prepared and excited to spend another year on leadership.  

Sara Paredes, Senior Copy

As Paredes approaches her junior year and third year on staff, she ventures into joining the leadership team as Senior Copy. While all leadership positions require running the publication and staff, Parades’ position also requires overseeing a specific section on staff: the copy editors.   

The job of a copy editor is often joked about as being the most tedious job on staff. Copy editors must maintain their story requirements while editing upwards of three stories a day as listed on the monthly spreadsheet. Editors make comments and corrections according to AP Style, which maintains a journalistic voice that is concise and clear. Many copy editors join staff with limited or no knowledge of AP Style, yet through Paredes’ guidance, they will learn. 

“Since copy is frequently made up of freshmen and new staffers, one of my goals is to be as welcoming and supportive as possible for them. I also aim to make sure that all of staff, not just copy team, has a solid understanding of all things AP style to improve our overall quality of writing and make sure that we are communicating accurate and reliable information to our readers and community,” Paredes said. 

Paredes has mastered AP style through her freshman year as a copy editor and later excelled to Feature Editor, which edits the most lengthy and quote-heavy section on the newspaper. 

“My first year on staff as a copy editor was probably the most helpful start I could’ve had to my time on The Panther, and I really hope to get to create that same vibe with next year’s copy team. I have always been a grammar police, and as Senior Copy Editor, I get to live that dream to the fullest extent. The training I received from the Senior Copy Editor in the 2021-2022 school year really set me up to feel confident making accurate, supportive edits, and I have used these skills in all of my writing — whether in my other classes or with The Panther,” Paredes said. “As Feature Editor this year, I’ve been able to see the behind-the-scenes of our publication, from multimedia to design to the actual content of a piece. These experiences have really prepared me to take on a leadership role next year, heightening my knowledge of the things that keep The Panther running and teaching me the valuable skills necessary to collaborate with leadership and make each print or online cycle successful.”

Aside from editing, Paredes also heavily values the classroom environment and support system The Panther provides her with, and hopes to help create that sense of family next year on leadership. 

“By far, my favorite part of being on The Panther is not only the work that we do, but the sense of family that we create with each year’s staff no matter what. Every year, the staff brings a different dynamic to the classroom, but it’s always been a safe space for all of us to be ourselves and express ourselves without judgment. Whether that’s through intense debates in our group chat, field trips to New York City and all of the chaos associated with that, or just the time we spend in class together, being part of The Panther has helped me create so many valuable friendships and relationships within staff,” Paredes said. 

Ivy Lagarto, Senior Design 

Lagarto joined The Panther this year and immediately felt a connection to both writing and design. After learning about some of the software The Panther uses in class, she began experimenting and teaching herself at home, contributing to eye-catching and professional designs to complement any story. As Lagarto takes on Senior Design next year, she will apply her passion and skill while teaching her team about the Adobe Software. 

“This past year, being a Design Editor on The Panther has helped me find creativity in the inner parts of myself. Just over a year ago, I would have never imagined that I could have such a great opportunity to be part of an amazing publication. Designing for The Panther has made me passionate about our publication, but it has also taught me to manage my time and be more responsible. The new skills that I gained by designing during this past year and watching our previous leadership has prepared me to lead a new group of designers next year,” Lagarto said. 

Writing a good story takes time and effort, but attracting the reader to stay on the page also remains crucial. Lagarto has numerous ideas and goals to improve the design aspect of The Panther to entice readers to stories and keep them there. 

“Next year, I hope to have better designs overall with more pictures and less graphics. I wish to have designs that are more centered around our students. I believe that inclusivity is more than just the stories we write, but our designs. I hope that through our designs, we can engage more people at Palmetto and around our community,” Lagarto said. 

Senior Design communicates frequently with Senior Multimedia in order to secure a shared vision for the physical look of the stories. Lagarto looks forward to cultivating journalistic and eye-catching designs while serving as a mentor to new designers. 

“My favorite parts of being on the paper are the opportunities I have to express my creativity and the bonds l have created. Being a designer has enabled me to tap into my inner creativity and develop passions. Newspaper has brought me so much joy by allowing me to meet new people and find interesting perspectives around Palmetto and in the community. From our comforting newspaper room to our New York trip, I cherish newspaper, the opportunities it has given me and the people in it,” Lagarto said. 

Emilia Haus, Senior Multimedia

After joining the newspaper this year as a member of the multimedia team, Haus’ experience in journalistic photography has prepared her to oversee the entire multimedia aspect of The Panther next year. Outside of The Panther, Haus can frequently be found carrying a camera with her and enjoys photography as a hobby, inspiring her to learn about lighting, a camera’s functions and uploading. 

“I’m most excited about having an input on what we produce and seeing how we will expand our multimedia team as a leadership member,” Haus said. “My role this past year as a Multimedia Photo Editor prepared me to be Senior Multimedia Editor because it helped me discover my passion for photography and also understand which areas of the team need improvement.”

A common consensus among next year’s leadership is increasing the multimedia that accompanies stories. Through collaboration and teamwork, the rest of leadership plans to collaborate with Haus to reach this goal and increase the visual aspects of the publication. 

Haus will oversee her multimedia team as they learn the functions of a camera, grasp the journalistic approach to pictures and work with the Senior Design Editor so the photos can be intertwined with designers’ efforts. 

Aside from Haus’ excitement about joining leadership, she feels strongly about becoming a role model and participating in the spirited newspaper environment the classroom fosters. 

“My favorite part of being on The Panther is the bonds I’ve made with everybody on staff in just one short year, and our common goal to work together to create the best possible publication,” Haus said. 

Jasmine Judge, Business Manager 

The Business Manager oversees the financial operations of The Panther and remains a key component in the making of our monthly print issues. Judge held the position this year and successfully managed a local fundraiser, oversaw monthly ad and donation collections from staffers and filed them with the school treasurer. 

As a student-run class, The Panther relies solely on advertisements from local businesses or donations to fund purchases of new camera equipment and high-quality glossy paper. Judge hopes to take her experiences this year and use them to guide her as Business Manager.  

“Next year, I hope to implement a booster club to help us raise more money. We’ve struggled in the past and I really want us to be able to afford printing Faces of Palmetto in glossy [print] next year, so I want to encourage staff as a whole to work together and achieve this,” Judge said. 

Judge’s past two years on staff have lended her journalistic experience and collaborative skills to continue producing high-quality articles for The Panther while working with others on leadership to fund the publication. Aside from gaining business knowledge, Judge shares a similar love for how The Panther has increased her awareness of the news. 

“My favorite part of being in the paper is learning new things about the school and community every day. I have been able to discover so many unspoken facts about the school and bring them to light through the stories I write,” Judge said. 

Judge feels excited to lead staff and expand the reach of The Panther inside and outside of the school. Her strong foundation and leadership skills make her well-equipped for the position.