Hello,

I’m Megan Howard.

I am a passionate fourth-year journalism student at the University of Florida. I fell in love with journalism while watching and reading the news with my mom as a kid. Also, I was (and still am) a huge nerd whose best friends are fictional characters from books.

Currently, I am the Engagement Managing Editor for The Independent Florida Alligator.

In high school, I joined my school’s newspaper, The Bolles Bugle, where I served as a contributing writer for three years while on staff. I also served as the Social Media Editor during my last two years. When I applied to college my senior year, I knew I needed to study journalism.

I joined The Independent Florida Alligator during my sophomore year of college. I started out as a general assignment University reporter. I learned more working at the paper that semester than I did in the classroom, and fell in love with the hustle of student news. That spring, I transferred over to the Metro desk and covered K-12 Education. My skills have grown tremendously, and I have become comfortable with briefs, live tweeting, public meeting coverage and in-depth investigations.

I took the summer off from the paper to study abroad in Florence, Italy, where I took courses on magazine publishing and travel writing.

At the beginning of my junior year, I returned to The Alligator to work on the editorial board as the Opinions Editor. In this role, I gained leadership experience while I learned the daily operations of a newsroom. I cultivated a team of columnists to write opinion pieces on relevant topics, including the 2024 election cycle, student government, arts in Alachua County, environment and student life.

During the spring, I decided I was ready to take on more responsibility at The Alligator, and I was promoted to Senior News Director. In this role, I taught journalism foundations to new reporters, assisted in flat editing the paper and led the Caimán desk. It’s been such a privilege to give back to the paper that I owe everything.

As well, I worked in the marketing office at the UF College of Engineering as a student assistant feature writer. I worked under former journalist and PR expert Dave Schlenker to write feature stories on the college’s students and staff. It rarely felt like a job! I had so much fun interviewing engineers and writing features on their amazing research.

For three-and-a-half weeks in May, I went to Portugal with the UF College of Journalism. As we ventured through Lisbon and Porto, I took a travel reporting and international sports media class. This trip was integral in helping me make more connections within the J-school, as well as learn more about journalism and the world. What a privilege to have the chance to go abroad for a second summer!

This summer, I spent 10 weeks in Las Vegas at the Las Vegas Review-Journal as a metro reporting intern. In my time there, I learned so much about the daily life of a journalist. As it turns out, what happens in Vegas does NOT stay in Vegas.

When I arrived back in Gainesville for the start of my senior year, I rejoined The Alligator as the Metro Editor. In this role, I learned how to edit for structure, clarity and AP style. It was so rewarding to watch my writers grow throughout the semester!