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Opinion 
The Falcon Times: Looking for your stories
 Monique O. Madan will serve as editor-in-chief of The Falcon Times for the 2010-2011 school year. ILLUSTRATION BY JOSEPH MIDY / FALCON TIMES STAFF |
My high school prom night could have been the best night ever—or the worst.
Fresh out of the salon, I was dressed as a geisha; chopsticks, pounds of makeup— all that jazz.
But first, I had more pressing matters.
At 3 p.m. I drove to Miami Dade College’s North Campus for an interview that had the power to skew my future.
As I entered a 90-minute interview for the chance to become the Falcon Times’ editor-in- chief, I had to try twice as hard not to be judged by my appearance and make sure my make-up didn’t smear for my last event as a high school student.
Three months later, I’m happy to report that my eyeliner didn’t run.
I was chosen by a five-person panel to serve as Falcon Times’ editor-in-chief for the 2010-11 academic year.
There are no words to describe how blessed I feel to have this opportunity.
Journalism has always been in my blood.
In the ninth grade I became features editor of The Rampage, the student newspaper at Miami Coral Park Senior High School.
My first story consisted of contacting former Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools Rudy Crew.
I interviewed him on his cell phone while he picked out what to wear from his closet.
Soon after, I was promoted to news editor and then managing editor.
Before I knew it, I was interviewing stars such as Queen Latifah during the festivities that led up to Super Bowl XLIV.
Journalism has always been my passion; it is about seeking the truth.
I’ve always been curious.
So naturally, when a friend in one of my Spanish classes at Coral Park told me that the newspaper always failed to include the marching band, I pondered: What can be so interesting about the marching band?
I agreed to attend their seasonal meeting. To my utter surprise, I liked it. The following week I made the marching band’s color guard team.
Don’t ask me why; don’t ask me how. Something about catching a spinning rifle 15 feet in the air gave me goose bumps.
It challenged me to try something I had never dreamt of doing.
During my junior year, I was the weakest link in the guard. Everything I tried to spin, I dropped.
I was always placed at the end of the line.
Yet, I was undeterred; I was determined to catch my sabre, rifle and flag. There was something about catching an object coming at you with such force.
After a year of training, I finally overcame my obstacles. In December 2009, I made it. I made it on the sabre line.
Color guard allowed me to spin for something bigger than myself; it was through color guard that I realized that everyone has a story.
Sometimes we just need to dig a little deeper to find those stories.
I look forward to finding new stories this year at the North Campus and grasping on to my future with all of you.
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Monique O. Madan, 18, is a journalism and mass communications major in the Honors College at the North Campus. She will serve as editor-in-chief of The Falcon Times for the 2010-2011 school year. Madan, a 2010 graduate of Miami Coral Park Senior High School, has interned and freelanced for the Miami Herald Neighbors section.