Payton Brummels joined the Newspaper staff as a reporter at the start of the 2023-24 school year. Brummels spent her first year on staff writing numerous articles for the north howler website and improving her writing skills.
At the start of Brummels’s senior year, she was crowned the next Editor-In-Chief. Brummels gained this role by constantly producing well-written pieces, helping reporters and editors whenever needed, and being an uplifting spirit in and out of the classroom. Payton masters what it means to be a leader with her supportive presence in G215.
“She embraced the new role without any hesitation and has become such a strong leader for the staff,” North Howler adviser Chloe Healy said. “It’s been so cool to see her produce really strong pieces while also dedicating a lot of her time to helping the reporters.”
Payton not only leads the North Howler staff, but she also communicates with such positivity and wants everyone in the classroom to better themselves.
“Her inherent want to improve and make herself and the people around her better is such an underrated quality,” Healy said.
Even with the stress of the Newspaper on her shoulders, Brummels excels in all her classes and demonstrates her knowledge and perseverance in achieving goals to inspire others.
“Payton inspires me through her hard work and dedication within Newspaper and sports,” editor Chloe Mead said. “She’s such an amazing role model and I hope to model myself after her.”
Brummels has received quite a bit of recognition through her newspaper career. She qualified for the state competition in two events; she placed 6th in column writing and 8th for in-depth newspaper coverage. In the UNO High School Media Contest, she earned 1st in column writing and 2nd in news story writing. These medals and accolades don’t remotely summarize how much Payton has positively influenced the North Howler.
Brummels has taken on tough topics such as the political divide and the unsafe conditions in America for women. Her article “Women Choose the Bear” drew a lot of attention this spring.
“Payton’s article drew attention to the poor treatment women face from men,” sophomore Ashlyn Wellman said. “She showed that it is a real world issue for girls, not just some fantasy girls make up to draw attention.”
The North Howler has had five Editor-In-Chiefs, each motivating and encouraging their reporters in their own way. Payton has exemplified fearless leadership while inspiring both reporters and other editors in the classroom to produce stronger content and have a stronger care for their work.
“She has a really in tune sense of what works and what doesn’t with writing,” Healy said. “She’s been a really good coach to the other reporters to help them look at their own writing and figure out how to make it work best.”
Brummels lead the staff to produce dozens of online articles, social media content, and our recent print issue. She has overlooked nearly every reporter in the class and given them strong advice to better the work of the North Howler.
If it weren’t for Payton, this year’s production, quality, and togetherness would have been minuscule. Payton brings an uplifting energy with a love for the class everyday and inspires all those around her to do the same.
With Payton attending UNL for the next four years of her academic journey, she will be missed by those in and out of the North Howler classroom. Payton understands what it means to be a leader and she executes it to perfection.
