Meet the Columnist: Kathryn Hippe

The term “writer” is a boring label.

A trail of breadcrumbs led me to The Miami Student; if not by some grand design of my journalistic career-planning, then by a small frustration that demanded 800 words.

I walked into the newsroom expecting a sea of buzzing journalists, hunched over grammatical errors and looming deadlines. What I found instead were students compelled to question, challenge, reveal and urge others willing to listen.

Writing, I learned, is not the language of certification; it is the language of participation.

Though I am often up late at night staring down a blinking cursor in search of words, a short sum of what I hope to get across is this: We should be curious, aware and present in a society whose modernity is erasing us.

At the mercy of constant digital connection, I can say from experience that social media, doomscrolling and artificial intelligence can make you a spectator of life, leaving you to watch from the window as it passes you by. “Be where my feet are,” was my 2026 New Year’s resolution, and yet, the streak seemed to restart each day.

I realized I could say all I wanted — to faculty, alumni and students — but theory is not practice, and perception is not behavior. “Do as I say, not as I do,” became a common phrase on my tongue, but it left a sour taste.

So I write, less as a megaphone to the masses and more as a reminder to myself of things that I fail to do daily.

We cannot control the external forces in our lives, but our attention? That we can control.

As for now, you can catch me chasing deadlines and Kofenya’s closing time.

hippekl@miamioh.edu