Meet the Concordian staff

Brittany Strother is a “I was approached and asked is native Afghan Khaled Hos- “I want to leave no stone un-

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Concord University English major from Weston, West Vir- ginia. This is Brittany’s second year at Concord University and her first semester as a member of the Concordian newspaper staff.

“I was really nervous to join the newspaper staff at first,” she admits, “but now I love it. Everyone on staff is so welcom- ing and I’ve discovered that I really enjoy journalism.”

Brittany discovered her affinity for writing in elementary school when she became a finalist in a school competition she didn’t even know she had entered. Her writing career spi- raled out from there, earning her several trips to the state West Virginia Young Writing competition and the honor of a state championship her junior year of high school. She was thrilled by this accomplishment, but says that her greatest writing success was the essay she wrote about her father for a Veteran’s Day competition.

"I was approached and asked to participate in a competition my high school was having for Veteran’s Day. I wrote the essay on my dad and his extensive military background. I won, and I got to read my essay at a program sponsored by the History Channel in front of several military veterans, ranging from World War II to Iraq. I was so honored to stand on the same stage as real life heroes and tell the world about my father, my own personal Superman,” she says.

When she isn’t writing or doing schoolwork, Brittany has several hobbies that keep her busy, such as horseback riding, knitting, and spending time with her animals.

“My cat is my soulmate,” she laughs. “I really love working with animals. My whole family is notorious for taking in strays. None of us can turn away a furry little face, but I’d say I’m definitely the biggest sucker.”

Brittany also loves to read. Currently, her favorite author is native Afghan Khaled Hoseini, who specializes in fiction based on the struggles his home country faced as a result of the Taliban takeover. She’s read and loved two of his novels and is currently reading a third. She says she enjoys his books because they give her an uncensored look at a foreign culture and perspective on the struggles faced by people around the world.

Brittany hopes to gradu- ate from Concord University with a degree in either English Writing or Communications. After that, she plans to leave her home state of West Virgin- ia and move to a more metro- politan area to pursue a writing career. Ultimately, she hopes to one day either be the Editor-in-Chief of a major newspaper or magazine or have her own publishing company.

She’s got a lot of big plans for her life, but she only has one true life-goal. That goal is to be happy and live a life that she can be proud of.

"I want to leave no stone un-turned,” she says, “If it’s out there, I want to experience it. I don’t want to be ninety years old laying on my deathbed with a list of regrets a mile long. I want to be able to look back on my life and say ‘Man, what a ride.’”