Erika Turner is a 32-year-old transfer student from South Shore, Kentucky, who has worked very hard to get to where she is today. Her 6-year-old son is one of her biggest inspirations to continue her schooling, as she hopes to inspire him. She is majoring in communication and minoring in criminology. She has a great passion for journalism, and she plans on working in the field after she graduates. Her long-term goals are to be a crime reporter and an investigative journalist. Erika hopes to write for her own podcast, focusing on the staggering number of unsolved missing and murdered minorities.

Erika is excited to be a staff writer for the Chronicle, and she says that “there is nothing better in the world than a good human story.” She plans to focus on writing stories that will help future and current students here at Shawnee State. She learned a lot of life lessons as a young adult, and she hopes to spread her knowledge around campus. She is thrilled to be able to work so closely with her passion this semester.

When not writing for the Chronicle, Erika will be writing both fiction and non-fiction stories for her own enjoyment. She also spends a lot of time reading, and she loves to play “a silly amount of Stardew Valley.” She also loves any time she spends traveling with her son and husband.

When asked about advice she would give to incoming freshmen, Turner said, “Above all else, remember you are here for you. This is your future. Your hopes and dreams. They’re valid, no matter what anybody else says. Never lose sight of that.”