Senior Alexis Chery’s appointment as the Editor-in-Chief for The Lightning Strike’s 27th issue marks the first time in Krop’s history a black student leads the newspaper, standing as a figure of change.

     Chery’s journalistic journey began in her sophomore year when she accidentally joined The Lightning Strike.

     “I thought I was joining yearbook and wanted to switch out, but the editor-in-chief at the time convinced me to stay,” Chery said. “She told me that it’s a pretty easy class and she thought I would enjoy it. I wanted to be involved in the school somehow.”

     She thrived with this decision, becoming the only first-year newspaper student to win the prestigious Florida Scholastic Press Association “All-Florida” award.

     “I wrote a story on why American Sign Language should be a language class and I submitted it, not thinking I would win anything,” Chery said. “I found out months later that I won an award and was pleasantly surprised. One of the reasons that I wanted to leave in the first place was because I didn’t think that I was a strong writer, so it made me feel better about my writing skills.”

     Chery climbed up the ranks, becoming the Entertainment Editor in her first year and moving up to the News Editor during her junior year. Pushing forward, she decided to pursue and ultimately earn the top leadership position for her senior year: Editor-in-Chief.

     As the first black student to hold this role, Chery allows the change to shape many of her upcoming aspirations.

     “Having someone in the paper that is going to understand the students in the school is very important and I take pride in the fact that that’s my job: to make sure that students feel heard,” Chery said.

     As nearly 40 percent of Krop’s population is black, Chery emphasizes the importance of transforming the media representation at our school. 

     “When I started at Krop, the entire newspaper staff was white,” Newspaper adviser Natalie Bilbao said. “There wasn’t much diversity at all. When the newspaper only writes for one demographic, they become our only readers. It’s a disservice to a large population of our students, and to our paper, too.”

     Now, more than ever, the paper has many black students writing and editing for the school’s newspaper. 

     “I was surprised when I heard she was the first black Editor-in-Chief,” staff writer Tyler Christmas said. “I am excited too because we could have our voices and ideas heard more and talk about other issues that probably wouldn’t have come up.”

     Understanding the significance of her accomplishment, Chery also hopes to pave the way for further change at Krop. 

     “I hope that I inspire other black students to take leadership roles as well, to make a difference in their school and to represent other kids that might not feel represented,” Chery said.

     Additionally, Chery hopes to make drastic changes to the paper and emphasize the importance of entertaining and representing the Krop student body.

     “Already, we’re working on our first all-color publication,” Bilbao said. “I didn’t think we could do it, but Alexis is getting it done. This is the year that we are moving in a different direction and expanding, and that’s thanks to her.”