Senior Spotlight: Cecilia Maddox, EIC and friend to all
Cecilia Maddox, a senior fine arts major and communications minor, has served Pacer Times as EIC since 2018.
As a writer, Maddox has won awards for journalistic talent and has passed on knowledge to fellow staff at Pacer Times. It would not be enough to simply list achievements, so the editorial staff of Pacer Times has compiled their view of Maddox for the students to see the type of person the editor-in-chief of five semesters is, in print and in person.
David Frantz:
Cecil—no, not Cecil the Seasick Sea Serpent with Beany—but Cecilia Marlana Maddox, Editor In Chief (EIC) of Pacer Times, has been quite kind to me trying increase my limited knowledge of the online student newspaper business that she seems to take delight in to the point of obsession but at the same time, it sometimes overwhelms her. She is very patient.
She’s quite the TikTok maestro. Her onscreen persona has a wide range of looks from extremely plain to over the top fancy and looking like a model. Her colorful vocabulary is suitable for any newsroom, anywhere, except maybe not the Vatican. Her self-deprecating self-description of herself as a chubby white girl will forever make me smile.
Erica Bennett:
The first time I met Cecil, I was terrified of her. I first met her at the Etheredge Center between my flute lesson and class. I don’t think we talked at all then.
I was looking for a job, one of my friends suggested the newspaper. When I learned that Cecil was the EIC, I figured my chances of being hired were slim to none.
When I did get hired and got to know her, I can’t believe I was initially scared of her. Cecil is an amazing writer and EIC.
She’s extremely patient when teaching others. She and Noelle taught me the AP style for writing as well as how to operate the programs we use for the paper. Cecil is crazy (in a good way), funny, intelligent and has a huge heart.
She is great at giving constructive criticisms, as well as giving an opinion when asked. I have only known Cecilia for a semester, but I will definitely miss her around campus next semester. Cecilia has been an amazing EIC, and she is going to be missed.
Noelle Kriegel
The newspaper has been an incredible thing for me. It wouldn’t have the weight it has in my heart if Cecilia was not the EIC.
Cecilia is a brilliant writer, passionate to a degree that I am still trying to understand and empathetic to nearly a fault. These combined make not only a wonderful journalist, but a wonderful friend.
I met Cecilia in January 2019. I’ve told my fellow staff members this before, but I wasn’t actually applying for a position at Pacer Times when I first walked in. I was planning on trying to join Broken Ink. But once I was in a room with Cecilia and a few other older staff members, I fell in love.
Being surrounded by someone with so much passion that it flows over influenced my choice of majors and made me realize what I wanted to do with my life. I had a purpose because I was in a room full of people with a purpose, and with a boss that fueled our passions and purposes.
Working with Cecilia is an experience that is not easily described.
As a coworker, we have disagreed numerous times over articles, arguing into the early hours of the morning. But the valuable thing is, Cecilia has shown me what it takes to be a leader, and that means compromising and educating. I have learned more than AP style from Cecilia, I have learned how to lead an organization, and I can only hope that I will be enough to fill the position that Cecilia has set in place.
