Readers of The Contributor, remember when I said you’d read more about Chelsea later in her very own Spotlight? Well, that time has come, and you didn’t have long to wait!
Meet our new Office Manager Chelsea Jackson! Chelsea is 22 and she grew up in East Nashville. She’s in her final year at Belmont where she studies journalism.
When she was very young she saw Contributor vendor John G. who used to dress in costumes as a clown and as Super Mario, and let’s just say, it made an impression!
Those early interactions peeked her curiosity about the issues that face our society, and eventually led to her peering deeper into those issues that people don’t like or want to talk about like homelessness and injustice.
In contrast to the majority of people, Chelsea WANTS to talk about/write about these issues.
She pointed out that The Contributor is one of the last print newspapers in existence that deals with these types issues. She went on to say that this opportunity has given her the chance to chase her dreams.
Her journey began at The Contributor as an editorial intern, learning the ropes of the newspaper business from our co-editor Linda Bailey.
So what exactly does she do for the paper? In her latest role as Office Manager, she currently maintains the schedule for ALL the volunteers.
What does she hope to accomplish during her time here? She wants to learn as much as she can from the people here, and become a better writer, to that end she also writes a weekly newsletter for The Contributor.
From her vantage point, having grown up here, she feels Nashville is often portrayed in the media as all sunshine and roses, while the real issues remain hidden, covered up.
She wants to uncover and expose “real issues” that affect people in our community.
To give you one example, during the course of this interview she cited The Riverchase Development. (Something I was not familiar with.) It was an apartment complex that was torn down and replaced by a multipurpose development. Displaced residents were supposed to be able to move back in with rental assistance, but even with the rental assistance, it’ll still be to expensive for many of the former residents to return.
This is just one example of the “real issues” highlighted by Chelsea, and things like this are becoming more and more common in our area.
I can’t wait to see what other hidden gems she uncovers, and what other accomplishments she achieves as her journey continues with The Contributor!