Shelby Harrell was named Arts and Entertainment editor in fall of 2009 after she served as a Western Carolinian intern for the summer of 2009. She has since continued to be a successful Arts and Entertainment editor in which she incorporates a great deal more depth into the section.
As a staff member of the Pride of the Mountains marching band, Shelby was able to utilize her music background to establish a more musically involved section. Likewise, her love and appreciation for the fine and performing arts has been a great additional asset to incorporate a balance in the section.
In spring of 2010, Shelby stepped in as a double section editor for the Western Carolinian and took on the roles of News and Arts and Entertainment editor for a full a semester and summer term. Even though her work doubled, she was able to maintain both sections successfully, even while completing a summer internship in Asheville.
Today, Shelby remains as essential as ever to her Arts and Entertainment section, but she has also taken on the role of Online Photo Editor to utilize her photography skills that she learned while being a multimedia intern with the Asheville Citizen-Times this past summer.
Shelby is currently working to graduate with two Bachelor’s degrees, one in Journalism and one in Professional Writing. Shelby could have graduated with a Professional Writing degree in May 2010, but decided to pursue her newly discovered passion for Journalism even further. She is expected to graduate with her two degrees this coming May 2011.
Shelby is very grateful for her continuous opportunities to work with the Western Carolinian. She has grown from an intern, to a writer, to an editor, to online photographer and the opportunities continue to grow.
The Western Carolinian introduced Shelby to the career that she didn’t know she wanted, and she is excited her future as a successful journalist.