About Us

My name is Lyndsey Peace and I’m from Cisco, Texas. I am an English major and a senior here at Hardin-Simmons University. I am the editor-in-chief and I’ve been on The Brand staff for three years now. Last semester I studied abroad in London, and it was the best experience of my life!

Hey guys! I’m Rowdy Teaff and I’m the news editor for The Brand. I started writing for The Brand as a freshman as a staff reporter and became the news editor last year. Writing for The Brand isn’t all that I do though, I also play defensive line here on the football team. I’ve worked on campus at the Human Performance Lab, and as a lifeguard too. Hardin-Simmons University has given me many opportunities to grow as a young professional by giving me a wide range of opportunities to develop different parts of my career. Writing for The Brand has looked different every single year. This is the start of four years for me, and each staff has a different dynamic. Traditionally, we printed the paper and placed them in each building around campus for students, faculty and staff to pick up as they pleased. Transitioning online is something that lets us have more freedom to write about current events around campus as they happen. Now we can write about things as they happen instead of having to wait weeks to publish a new edition. I’m looking forward to being able to produce news that will help keep students up to date on what is happening on the forty acres.

My name is Brianna Cravens and I’m from Honey Grove, Texas. I am a senior here at Hardin-Simmons University and an exercise science major. I aspire to further my education to become a Chiropractor after I graduate from HSU. I started writing for The Brand since my first semester of freshman year as a staff reporter. I continued as a staff reporter until the fall of 2018 when I became a staff writer. Now, this is my second semester as the copy editor. A fun fact about me is that I currently serve as the crew captain for the HSU Love Your Melon Campus Crew. Love Your Melon’s mission is to give a hat to every child battling cancer and supporting the fight against pediatric cancer. I am so excited to be a part of this experience as The Brand goes online and I can’t wait to see how many more people we get to share our newspaper with now!

My name is Kirsten Patterson and I am a senior graphic design major from Abilene. I have worked as the layout editor for The Brand for one year. A fun fact about myself is that I have done a Mexico to Canada bike ride, two bike rides across Texas and a bike ride across Missouri.

My name is Aubrie Northcut and I’m from Austin, Texas. I’m a senior and I’m the photo editor. This is my second year with The Brand. A fun fact about me is that I love coffee and probably drink way more than should be allowed.

My name is Ellie Ratliff and I am the sports editor for The Brand. I am from Dallas and I’m a junior here at Hardin-Simmons University, as well as an economics and finance major. I have really enjoyed my classes so far and hope to go to law school after I graduate from HSU. There are a few other organizations here on campus in which I am involved. I am on the women’s soccer team. We are currently in the middle of our fall season, and I play center defender. Our coach, Marcus Wood, has built an incredible program, and it is an honor to be able to play for him. I am in the honors program as well, which has given me the opportunity to branch out and take various awesome, thought-provoking classes. This year, I also joined our campus Love Your Melon crew. This club is part of a nonprofit organization that raises awareness for pediatric cancer. I am the oldest of five children and have three sisters and one brother. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with family and friends, traveling, reading, being outdoors and watching Netflix. I love to watch and play sports, so I have really enjoyed being the sports editor for The Brand and am looking forward to what lies ahead this upcoming school year. Guns up!

My name is Skylar Bell Brenner and I am a sophomore this year at Hardin-Simmons University. I was born in Nashville, Tennessee and moved to Round Rock, Texas when I was 11. I came to HSU to further my education, but mostly to strengthen my faith in the process by surrounding myself with a community that encourages me in my relationship with Christ. I am a math education major with a minor in Spanish and honors with the goal in mind of becoming a high school math teacher in a bilingual school. One fun fact about me is that I am a closet Shakespeare nerd and can recite Juliet’s famous balcony scene monologue from “Romeo and Juliet.” I began working for The Brand as a staff reporter during my first semester of college and wrote as a staff writer my second semester. This fall I am taking on the position of entertainment editor for The Brand. I cannot wait to see how this historical school newspaper evolves as we transition into a digital format, and I hope to reach a larger audience with news about what is going on at HSU.

My name is Duc (Felix) Nguyen and I am a graphic design student here at Hardin-Simmons University. I’m from Hanoi, Vietnam and I’m currently a junior. I’ve been on staff for The Brand as an assistant layout editor for roughly a year. Something you might not know about me is that movies are my favorite art form and I can talk about them always.

My name is Ali Richardson and I am a sophomore, nursing major. I am from Abilene, born and raised. I am a staff writer, and this is my third semester writing for The Brand. A fun fact about me is that I have two dogs, Becky and Muffy, and a fish named Jameson!

My name is Madison Boboltz. I am a senior, graduating in December with a Bachelor of Arts in Religion and Psychology. I also minored in honors interdisciplinary studies. I have written for The Brand since fall of 2017 and have been a staff writer, covering the Cynthia Ann Parker School of Liberal Arts and Logsdon School of Theology beats since fall of 2018. Originally, I am from North Richland Hills, Texas. A fun fact about me is that my favorite movie is and forever shall be Shrek.