The Panther’s Prey bids farewell to five seniors
Seniors Jessica Ferrell, Laura Sledge, Ashley Fowler, Margaret Cross and Macy Linton pose on a slide.
May 10, 2010 • written by Lauren Haley
Filed under Features
The Panther’s Prey will be losing more of its senior staffers than normal this year. These five seniors, who will be heading off to college this fall, have worked very hard to make their last year a good one.
Laura Sledge has been a member of The Panther’s Prey newspaper staff for three years. In her years on staff she has served as the sports editor, the content editor, and the current editor-in-chief.
“I joined newspaper because I love writing, and got a completely different experience than I had expected. The work is hard, but I love the small atmosphere of the class and I made some really good friends in the past three years,” Sledge said.
Although she admits it was challenging, Sledge says that being on staff has helped her a lot in school.
“Also, being on newspaper has helped my writing composition, grammar, and vocabulary skills, and it has given me real life experience because it was kind of like a job. Even though it gets stressful sometimes, it feels really good to be a part of something and to be able to look at my finished product and be proud of it,” Sledge said.
Sledge, who enjoys reading, cooking, hiking, and camping in her free time, will attend The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where she plans to double major in political science and criminal justice. Sledge also holds a job at the Bartlett Cinema 10.
Ashley Fowler, who has also been on staff for three years, has served as features and layout editor for The Panther’s Prey, and is now managing editor.
“It [Newspaper] has helped me so much with school, and I love to write,” Fowler said.
She also says that she loves the friends she has made.
“Laura and I have a relationship that will never fade, and my adviser always has my back,” Fowler said.
Fowler enjoys playing the piano, writing songs, and reading. Fowler will major in biology. She plans on attending The University of Memphis for one year and then transfer to Spelman College in Atlanta Georgia for the remainder of her college years. Fowler, who has been working at Chick-Fil-A since the age of 14, hopes to be a pharmacist.
Margaret Cross, who has been a part of staff for two years, has served as sports editor and, currently, as copy editor.
“Being on newspaper helped me to decide that I want to go into publishing,” Cross said. “Plus, it let my creative juices flow more freely, and everyone was like a family.”
Cross enjoys taking long walks, listening to music and doing crossword puzzles in her free time. Cross will double major in German and English at The University of Tennessee at Knoxville, and wants to go into publishing as either a translator or copy editor. She is currently employed by Fresh Slices.
Macy Linton has been a part of staff for two years. Linton has been features editor and is currently serving as opinions editor.
“The people in it [Newspaper] are fantastic, and even though I’m really bad about deadlines, it still helps my writing,” Linton said.
Linton enjoys writing and hanging out with friends. Linton will attend Louisiana State University to major in ecology and evolutionary science, along with environmental studies. Linton hopes to one day become a conservationist or an environmentalist.
Also, this year, these four seniors had to make the change from a print newspaper to an online publication.
Jessica Ferrell, who just joined staff this year, is the news editor and head photographer. Ferrell transferred to Bartlett this year from Macon Road Baptist School, where she served on the school’s yearbook staff.
“It [Newspaper] strengthened my writing skills. And since it was my first year at the school, it let me meet people,” Ferrell said.
Ferrell has played both softball and basketball and was also a cheerleader, but now she enjoys writing poetry and photography. She plans on attending Union University in Jackson, Tennessee, in the fall to major in English, after which she will pursue a career as a high school English teacher. Currently, Ferrell holds a job at McAlister’s Deli.
All the girls have different reasons for joining staff, and will take their experience to different places after graduation.
With their different experiences and talents, the girls came together, along with the rest of the staff, to produce each issue of The Panther’s Prey newspaper.
“Over the past few years, the paper has been our baby, and its something we can really be proud of accomplishing,” Sledge said, “and I am. I’m very proud.”
Nice article, Lawren (:
I love all of you girls and it’s been a great three years. Good luck in college and whatever else you all end up doing!