Senior Spotlight on Executive Managing Editor Tanner Sullivan

During the Fall semester of 2024, a young college student with an inspiration for writing, radio, and media entered Lackland 253 for Newspaper Production Studio. This marked the beginning of Tanner Sullivan’s journey as a student-journalistalist, a communication major with a minor in professional writing.

He began as an introverted college student seeking his purpose until offered the position of Student Programming Director for WNTI, The Sound of Centenary. There, he mentored young college students at the radio station, teaching them how to operate the board, while he discovered ways to blend media, film, and radio all in one puzzle. 

Tanner is also an intern at WRNJ, a local radio station specializing in news. He wrote features and surveyed people across events, and currently hosts a weekly feature called Fresh Popcorn, which covers upcoming movies.     

Managing editors Carlee Nigro and Nick Storms sat down with Tanner to better understand his journey at Centenary. 

If you could describe your college journey, what would it be like?

At first, I didn't know what to think of it when I first came here, because all these thoughts were flying through my head at once. I was in a rough patch back then, and I questioned if I was going to fit in.
Will I ever get used to the format of how this university works? However, once my sophomore year began, I found my footing, largely thanks to WNTI. I got to learn more about media like radio and journalism, which are skills I never considered before. 

What has The Cyclone Chronicle taught you?

The Cyclone Chronicle opened a door to a different form of writing that I hadn't really thought much of in the past. I didn't join the Chronicle until late 2024, so at the time, the only writing formats I was really used to were APA, MLA, and similar formal styles. Journalistic writing is so much different. 

Once I became more accustomed to the style, I learned that writing is not only an informative medium, but it's also built on creativity. There are a lot of different subjects you can explore and ways you can tackle them; there's no shortage in what you can cover. And although I prioritized most of my writing to movie reviews at the Chronicle, I was still able to experiment with a lot of different formats, points of view, and perspectives that really helped give me a wider sense of what writing is truly capable of. 

How were you able to blend your passions for film and journalism together?

I've come to realize that they share the same core traits because they all begin with an idea, and what sets each medium apart is how you execute it. There are endless ways you can approach different ideas, formats, and styles, but it's how you tackle the idea at hand that matters most. 
In all of the different formats I experimented with, I established my core ideas first, then built off of them in my own voice. Especially today, where AI is getting more and more unpredictable and overbearing, I feel like creativity is something that should be cherished and should be taken advantage of, no matter how you decide to approach it.   

Why did you choose to go to Centenary? 

When I was doing my college search, I decided to go with Centenary for many reasons. One is because they had a really good communication program. At the time, I was looking for a school where I could learn more about different media formats like film. I only applied to four colleges: Centenary, Ithaca, East Stroudsburg, and Stockton. But I really liked that Centenary was local, so I could go home whenever I want to, and it's built on community. 

One of the biggest selling points for me was the clear goal to prioritize students getting the best experience possible. I wanted to attend a university that has quick and effective communication among professors. I think Centenary's overall goal is maintaining a community and providing a strong academic experience to all of its students, with professors who are easy to contact at any time. So, I think that's what officially got me to sign on, along with the strong communication program and the overall locality of it.

What's one thing you want to take away from college that you'll never forget? 

There are many core lessons I've learned from college, one of which being that it's okay to go at your own pace. There's no fault in taking a day off, asking multiple questions for the right details, and taking a while to find your passion. But I think if there's one major thing I could take away from my college experience, it's that even if you don't have everything figured out immediately, it's okay to let the pieces of the puzzle fall into place. There are some aspects of my future post-graduation that I still haven't fully figured out. But you're not going to figure out everything about your future right away; you're going to do it over time. 

When I first came to Centenary, the workload was overwhelming compared to high school, especially with a new environment. But what really matters is how you balance everything. 
The effort is one thing, and it's important to maintain consistency with that, but it's how you balance out and complete your assignments that's really important. As long as you show that you're passionate and that you care about the project at hand, or that you're putting in some type of effort at the very least, that's the most fulfilling part of the college experience. So, although I don't have everything figured out, I can at least maintain those lessons in whatever I decide to pursue. 

What are your plans after graduation?

I'm still figuring that out. I’ve started my employment search, and the ideal endgame is to work at either a radio station or one of the mainstream media studios that are opening in New Jersey. 

Of course, there is the Netflix studio arriving in Monmouth County, along with studios like Paramount and Lionsgate. 

I would love to have a way to express my creativity while still maintaining collaborative efforts at the same time. I’m in the process of building a way to get there. The employment search is no easy feat. It’s not like everything you see in the movies and the shows, where you go to an interview and shake hands. It’s more of a game, balancing out all your attributes with what a company’s looking for. But you don’t know for sure how it’s going to go until you try. 

I sent in my first application a while ago. Unfortunately, they didn’t proceed with me, which is a shame, but that just means there’s something else waiting for me in the future. I’m still looking at other options. 

I’ve been redirected to some positions associated with Fox and Sirius XM, and so I’m going to look into those. I’m going to keep on top of Netflix and the other studios and see how it goes from there. 

I have also discovered a passion for radio while at Centenary, and I’m connected with a lot of individuals in the medium, like at WRNJ. As such, I would also love to work in radio, especially with how much my passion for it has grown during my time at Centenary.

What's your advice for college students struggling to find their purpose? 


You can make the argument that finding your purpose is the overall goal of the college experience. For some people, they might have it figured out immediately, while others might need additional resources.
But in any case, when you're looking for your overall endgame or sense of purpose, the best way to go about it is to be yourself. You can only embody one true personality: yours. It's just a matter of how you use it.
I think letting your true personality shine is what's going to get you furthest in this world, especially now in such an unpredictable environment. 

What kept you coming back to The Cyclone Chronicle? 


It was a great creative outlet where I got to expand my skills in movie reviews. I had originally lost interest in crafting them in 2022, as the only way of creating and sharing them was Instagram, and those posts didn't get much traction. So, writing reviews for the student newspaper allowed me to keep in touch with my creative side, while allowing me to expand on what I knew. 


In every Cyclone Chronicle class I have attended, there's always been this great sense of joy with ideas roaming around the room, and an overall sense of happiness. Plus, the student journalists always sport a passion for writing, and an overall excitement to be there. Not to mention, some of the strongest friendships I ever formed on this campus came from The Cyclone Chronicle. 
It has given me a reason to look forward to every day I attend the class, because it allows me to utilize more of my creative side as I experiment with different formats, while still letting me bond with my peers. 

What do you think is the key to formulating friendships for everybody listening? 


It ties back to what I was saying earlier about being yourself. There's only one of you in this world, and we all have unique traits that set us apart. Being able to collaborate with people of different personalities, backgrounds, and knowledge levels is key to forming strong friendships and building community.


That's the mantra that I want to live by. I want to be the best person that I could possibly be to both myself and the people I care about.

There's a saying I heard a couple of years ago that I try my best to live by: friends come and go after a while, but true friends stay and become your family. So, I treat every friendship that I have like a familial bond and cherish every moment I have in them. 

What was your favorite memory and story that you wrote for the chronicle? 


I really loved my original review of Transformers One because that was the review that got me started with The Cyclone Chronicle. 
I also enjoyed my review of Hamilton because that was the first time I covered something outside of a movie, and my coverage of Joyce Estey since that was the first feature I wrote about a guest speaker. My April Fool's articles were also a favorite because I really got to have a lot of fun in my writing, and I was cracking up as I was writing every word. 

If I had to pick a favorite story from the Chronicle, it would be the summer movie blockbusters miniseries from the beginning of the academic year. It was a four-part miniseries, my most ambitious project to that point; I was covering 20-something movies that I had seen over the summer in one series. 
It allowed me to grow closer to the film industry, which is what I've been so passionate about, while letting me experiment with making my details more concise than I normally do with my reviews. 

In terms of my favorite memory, although I didn't technically write it, it was the day when Nick Storms jumped into the snow during a winter storm. It was not only funny, but it let me develop my close friendships with everyone on the editorial staff. 
We were all laughing and making jokes; just friends having a good time together, and a great bonding experience that I've cherished ever since it happened. 

What is your lasting impression of WNTI?

I joined WNTI through an audio production class that was required for a major, and that was the first club on campus that really helped me break out of my shell. 

I've sung the praises of WNTI many times. 
I've had multiple amazing opportunities because of them, such as being a member of the World College Radio Day Student Board, as well as a participating in Student News Live, both of which involved radio stations from around the country. However, in terms of my lasting impression on WNTI, I think I really just want to emphasize the point that radio is a unique and welcome form of media.

People who participate in WNTI can do whatever they want for their shows. They can pre-record them, or they can do them live. They can make them about music, or do talk shows, interviews, and discuss things that are going on in their day-to-day life. Although broadcasting over the air does seem a bit intimidating at first, it soon feels less like broadcasting to an entire listening area, and more like having a conversation, just with a microphone in front of you. It's a medium where you can really encompass your creativity and use it in your own unique way. 

While writing lets you do it through text, radio lets you do it with your voice. So there's kind of a correlation between the two, especially how they both emphasize creativity and experimentation.

I think the overall impression that I want to leave behind is that you're welcome at the radio station, and you can express yourself however you would like, with a welcoming community behind you. 

I am so grateful for all the incredible friendships that I’ve made throughout my four years, including the two incredible souls doing this interview: Nick Storms and Carlee Nigro. 

___

After interviewing Tanner, we’ve come to a realization on how close we all have become, and how thankful we are for each other, that we created memories we will never forget. This interview was more than just a regular interview; it felt like a genuine conversation about passions and expressing what we loo