Katie Mott, Feature Editor and Lead Copy Editor
Hello! My name is Katie Mott, and this is my third and (sadly) final year on The Leaf staff as a senior. This year, I am elated to be the Feature Editor and the Lead Copy Editor, which means I oversee the stories, photos, and designs going into the Feature section of The Leaf. I also collaborate with all of the writers in my section to help them turn their fantastic ideas into incredible stories. Additionally, as the Lead Copy Editor, I oversee and direct all of the copy edits for the print issue, website, and social media content. I focus on catching all of the tiny grammatical errors within a story and work with writers to improve the flow and cohesion of their stories. As a sophomore, I decided to join journalism to explore my passion for writing further. Before joining the class, all I had written was a few fictional stories, poems, and an abundance of essays for English class—and I craved more. I no longer wanted to be confined by the parameters of the standard literary analysis essay and found that news writing would give me just the right amount of breadth and depth in writing style that I desired. What brought me back to journalism as a junior, and once again as a senior, was not only the myriad of knowledge I have gained during my past two years on staff but the stellar community of fellow journalists I have the pleasure of working with daily. Through every tight deadline, design issue, and AP style question, everyone on staff is always willing to help. Due to the dedication of The Leaf staff to our magazine, website, and social media publications, we tend to stay pretty busy throughout the school year. However, when I am not hard at work on a new story, I love to read and write to improve my craft. I mostly write poetry and fictional short stories, often inspired by my experiences or issues that I find most pressing in today’s world. I enjoy submitting my pieces to contests, and even if I do not come close to winning, I remain thankful for the opportunity to have others judge my work. Outside of reading and writing, my other passions include baking, spending time outdoors, participating in various activities at my church, and spending time with friends and family. And with that, I hope you enjoy all of the stories that The Leaf has to offer. Happy reading!
