What’s the appeal of writing for Life and Times?
For Life and Times co-editors sophomore Kay Rideout and senior Leah Ryg, the appeal is simple: a passion for telling people’s stories.
It was Ryg’s freshman year when she was first approached by a friend of a friend to be a guest writer for The Echo.
“I wrote that story, and then I went and observed her doing her editing on Thursday night at production,” Ryg said.
Intrigued, she applied to be an editor for The Echo the next year. Ryg turned out to have a natural talent for editing and has been a Life and Times editor ever since.
Rideout had a more traditional entrance to section editing. As a freshman journalism major, she was a shoo-in for The Echo. Just because her role on The Echo paired well with her major, it did not mean she wasn’t looking forward to it.
“It sounded like a good experience to come out of college with,” Rideout said. “I was put into Leah and former co-editor Sarah Wordhouse’s Life and Times section, and I haven’t left!”
Though she did not originally apply to be a section editor, Rideout jumped at the opportunity when co-editor-in-chief Holly Gaskill asked her to step into the role. Rideout said that she’d been pondering an editing position, but hadn’t seen any openings. Gaskill’s question allowed everything to fall into place.
Regardless of their journalistic genesises, both women believe that everyone has a story to tell. While Rideout finds herself exploring hot topics and interviewing people to put a familiar face to big ideas, Ryg enjoys writing devotionals and interviewing people to tell even the simplest of stories. The pair wants to get more of campus involved with their section, because they believe that everyone has an important story.
So what can you expect from the Life and Times section of The Echo? Ryg outlined a few goals, including wanting to make the section more visually aesthetic, increase interaction with readers and expand the readership of Life and Times. Readers can also look forward to more community highlights.
“We want to include more of campus and get more people excited about reading the newspaper or being featured in the newspaper, because it’s fun to see yourself or see your friends featured,” Rideout said.
Now that you know a bit about these editors, Ryg and Rideout want to know: from the simplest testimony to getting caught in a tornado, what’s your story?
To share your story with The Echo, contact kay_rideout@taylor.edu or leah_ryg@taylor.edu!
