President Robert Kelly has appointed Kate Cuadrado as editor-in-chief of The Beacon for the 2023-24 academic year.
Cuadrado, a junior English major, began working for The Beacon during the spring semester of her freshman year, joining the staff as a news reporter. After working for a semester the following year as the sports editor, she became the news and managing editor, her current role.
Cuadrado’s interest in journalism not only inspired her to work for The Beacon, but it also guided her to apply for the role as editor-in-chief. She sees this as an opportunity to expand her role and journalistic work as the head of the University’s student-run newspaper.
“I was wanting to do something else in The Beacon and The Beacon is something I’m really passionate about,” Cuadrado said. “I love working here and being here and I’ve been doing it since freshman year.”
Cuadrado’s commitment and tenacity as a reporter and editor while covering challenging pieces is something that stands out to current editor-in-chief Brie Haro. She finds that Cuadrado’s attributes will allow for a smooth and successful transition into the new role.
“[Kate] has had to do a lot of reporting concerning a lot of admin at the school and I know that she can conduct herself in a great way to help best represent The Beacon while reporting,” Haro said.
In addition to the news of her appointment, Cuadrado’s choice for her news and managing editor next year is current copy editor and good friend Janea Melido. Melido’s coverage of breaking news and leadership over her years as a reporter and editor at The Beacon played a significant role in Cuadrado’s decision.
“Janea is such a dedicated and friendly person,” Cuadrado said. “She clearly has a lot of passion and love for The Beacon and that is a really big component of the managing role. It was just such an easy and clear decision for me to make.”
Melido is also enthusiastic about her upcoming role and the stories she will be covering in the news.
“I want to be calling people,” Melido said. “I want to be writing articles. I like to see the quick turnaround. I want to know things before the rest of the school knows things [and] I want to be the one telling people these things.”
The strong ties between the editor-in-chief and news and managing editor roles has historically produced strong writers and leaders from past Beacon staffs. Former editor-in-chief Malika Andrews and news and managing editor Clare Duffy worked together during the 2016-17 academic year and now work for ESPN and CNN, respectively.
Nancy Copic, Beacon adviser and assistant director of student media, has seen this play out over the years and firmly believes that Cuadrado and Melido will perpetuate the same high-caliber teamwork. According to Copic, Cuadrado’s community-building attributes will also factor into a strong staff next year.
“She is equipped to grow even more as a leader and as a journalist,” Copic said. “Everyone on staff loves her. She has learned a lot from Brie’s mentorship and I think she will be an excellent mentor to the rest of the staff next year.”
Michael Lang is a member of the editorial board for The Beacon. He can be reached at langm24@up.edu.
