Meet the editors: Chandler Chastain

“The Highland Echo” has been in print for over a century, and has seen many editors throughout its storied history. Chandler Chastain is making her mark in Maryville College history and continuing to bear the torch lit by those who came before by editing the Sports and Features sections of the Echo.

I wanted to write for the Echo because I think it’s such a great opportunity,” Chastain said. “Seeing your work in print is something unique and hard to have outside of college, so working for this newspaper is a great way for me to take advantage of the opportunities that Maryville College had to offer.”

Keen to capitalize on these opportunities, Chandler rose through the ranks of the Echo to become an editor her senior year. She also has experience writing in a variety of genres.

“I enjoy all kinds of writing, and my time here at Maryville has been spent trying all types of writing offered, including journalism,” she said. “Also, having the chance to see your writing in print every two weeks is pretty neat too.”

Her workload is more than the average editor, with the features section weighing especially heavy. Features, for the laymen, are longer articles, which usually run around 750 words or longer. Editing multiple features every issue no easy task, but Chandler does it with great aplomb.

“I enjoy the chance to really hone my editing skills…” and honed they have become, as articles that pass her sight are free of awkward phrasing and grammatical errors.

Beyond her work for the Echo, Chandler also runs cross-country and “basically lives in the Clayton Center for work and class.” Chandler is extremely involved in the Maryville College theater program and has a job with the Clayton Center as a production coordinator. She somehow balances all of these commitments with her school work and is pressing on to graduate this May.

The connection with her position as sports editor and her participation with cross-country intrigued me, so I asked her if that’s the reason she wished to edit sports this year.

“Sort of,” she said. “It also happened because the editor-in-chief needed someone to edit the Sports section, and no one else on the editor staff is an athlete.”

Chandler is an asset to the Echo, and I decided to ask her the most important question of all: What’s your favorite color?

“Garnet,” she said with a laugh. “Go Scots!“ Chandler is the best at what she does, and the Echo will sorely miss her next year when she graduates. Always humble, when I asked if there was anything else she wanted to say, she simply thanked me for taking the time to write this article.

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