As graduation approaches Darcy Ramirez, Editor-in-Chief of The South Texan will be leaving the student-run publication in the hands of the current Editorial Editor, Christopher “C.R.” Neal.
Neal took a journalism course with Nicole Morris, the faculty adviser of The South Texan and UNIV Coordinator, during the Fall of 2017 during which Morris recognized his immense talents and skills.
She quickly recruited him for the newspaper and thus Neal became an official reporter in January 2018 and moved up the hierarchy to Editorial Editor within a semester.
Neal still continues to prove his writing capabilities and willingness to communicate the truth.
“C.R. will continue moving The South Texan forward, building on the successes we’ve achieved over the last two years. He has grown as a journalist in that time, and I’m excited to see how his leadership unfolds,” Morris said.
Neal is an Interdisciplinary Studies major with a concentration in the English Language Arts and is predicted to graduate in Spring 2020.
Neal fell in love with the field of journalism by accident but has quickly developed and strengthened his skills as an investigative journalist. Neal is the author of many in-depth and hard news pieces for The South Texan and shows respectable ethics and morals when dealing with controversial issues.
Ramirez is not the only member of The South Texan who will be departing. Three reporters: Leti Torres, Aaron Monreal, Josue Villarreal and Sports Editor Colby Sims will also be graduating.
Interviews will be conducted this week in order to fill the vacant positions. Iliana Flores will remain Managing Editor and Aryssa Enriquez will stay on as Campus Editor.
“C.R. has always been great to work alongside, and now that he will be the next Editor-in-Chief, I’m excited to see how the newspaper will continue to grow under his leadership. While I love bringing the news to the community, I love the job even more because of the people I get to work with. We see each other almost every day so we’ve created a lot of memories together. I’m excited to be able to spend another year with my South Texan family,” Flores said.
When Neal first entered the newsroom, he was quiet and reserved but has grown to be engaging and outspoken about his interests and ideas. He has become a vital and dependable member of The South Texan family.
“We have made numerous changes to The South Texan over the past year, and each one of them raised the bar of excellence. I have quite the job to meet and exceed the standards set by our staff, but I look forward to raising that bar even higher during my tenure as chief editor. When I joined the staff of The South Texan it was almost by accident, and every day I am thankful that I did. I seek to maintain our credibility as a publication, and continue to make reporting the truth our primary responsibility,” Neal said.
