Courtney Stith only was involved with her high school newspaper in New Jersey for one year. A dedicated athlete, Stith became the paper’s sports editor. Together, she and a co-editor ran the entire section, creating all of the content alone. “I hated it,” she laughs. “Looking back, I’m surprised that I ever wanted to join a newspaper again.”
She did, however. Stith came to the University of Virginia knowing that she wanted to pursue a communications program, and from the first semester she wanted to “join the top news organization on Grounds.”
She joined three sections of The Cavalier Daily her first year: Video, Copy, and Social Media. Her roles have alternated over the years, from News writer to Copy Senior Associate. Now a third year, Stith serves as Video Editor in the Literary section.
“I’ve done a lot of things with the Cav Daily,” she says. “I just dove right in and kind of kept going.”
Stith particularly appreciates the technological aspect of her current role. Some of her favorite assignments for the paper were early Video projects, such as spotlights on the University a cappella groups. “They were really fun to go to, because the groups are just fantastic,” she says. The technical aspects of the position, she says, are “not super easy, but the final product always looks really good.”
These skills have been transferrable to Stith’s other activities and interests. In addition to serving as an RA, she runs the website of the Black Student Alliance and does video production for the Black Monologues theater organization. She is also involved with the Future in Fashion Association and is thinking about pursuing a career in magazines or fashion.
“I am the definition of doing too much,” she says. “But I really love everything that I do.”
To Stith, The Cavalier Daily was the place that she met her two best friends, as well as where she came to feel at home at the University. She looks back fondly at Managing Board and Editorial Board members from her first year, noting how welcome they made her feel as a newcomer.
Looking ahead, Stith is hoping to study abroad during her last two years at the University. She is concerned about how this will impact her role but is thinking of creating video content for the paper about her experiences. “No matter where I go, I will still be a part of the CD, until my last day at the University,” she says. “It’s been such a big part of my university experience.”