|
 |
 By Kendra Billings
Who is Amanda Rowell ‘10? Ask just about anyone on campus, and they will probably be able to tell you. She is a member of no less than four organizations, three of them Greek, has leadership positions in three of those and has also started publishing her own newspaper for the Oglethorpe community. A more pertinent question might ask what Amanda does not do.
Amanda chose Oglethorpe for several reasons. She had come from a small private high school, and liked the idea of staying within that same genre. “Oglethorpe was just the right size, close to home without being in my backyard, with easy access to the city of Atlanta,” says the Roswell, Ga. native. “I like the idea of the campus being a haven for research and study, but also a place where you can step three feet outside of campus and be in the buzzing metropolitan culture of Atlanta.”
With a very hands-on approach toward student life, Amanda became very involved on campus, immediately after she got here. She currently serves as her sorority, Sigma Sigma Sigma’s, social chair, as vice president of Panhellenic Council and as vice president of Oglethorpe Student Programming Board. She says, “Programming Board and Sigma social chair have taught me important organizational and event planning skills. Panhellenic has taught me about compromise. The leadership experience that each activity brings is a definite plus as well.”
The aspiring journalist had not selected her major when she got to Oglethorpe, so she took several classes in various departments before finding her calling. She says, “I spent a lot of time wondering what I was going to do for the rest of my life, until finally my roommate clued me in to the possibility of designing a major of my own. After taking Intro to Journalism with Dr. Shrikhande, I realized that I had found something that I was good at and that I enjoyed. I decided to run with it.”
Run with it she has. Besides writing for the Oglethorpe student newspaper, The Stormy Petrel, in March of 2008 Amanda published the first Ogre Exchange, a “campus rag” of her own creation. When asked why she would publish her own paper when Oglethorpe already had one, she laughed and said, “The Ogre serves a different purpose than The Stormy Petrel – we exist to provide a student voice that’s not so much about undercover articles, and more about just a fun thing to read while sitting in the cafeteria. Also, I wanted to have the experience of bringing an idea like The Ogre into being. It was something I kept saying I would love to do, and eventually I just thought to myself, ‘Why haven’t I done that yet?’”
The response to The Ogre Exchange has been enthusiastic. “I have been ultra-impressed with the overall interest in the publication, and with many people who seem eager to contribute,” Amanda said. “People have so many talents and opinions that do not get heard because there is no formal outlet for them.”
Amanda will need all the experience she can get; her future plans are ambitious. “I hope to have a career in the journalism industry, either as a travel writer or as a critic. I would like to work for a major publication like Food and Wine, National Geographic or The New York Times,” said Amanda, her excitement obvious. Is she worried about entering the work force after leaving Oglethorpe? No way, she says, “I firmly believe that my experiences here at Oglethorpe have prepared me for leadership and success in the real world.” |
