The Concordia Courier

John Symank

Editor-in-Chief

John Symank is the Editor-in-Chief for the Concordia Courier, Concordia University Irvine’s student-led newspaper. He is currently a senior, completing a BA in Communication Studies with an emphasis in Mass Communication, and a minor in Business Administration.

As Editor-in-Chief, John oversees all four sections of the paper - Campus life, sports, arts and reviews, and local and global news coverage. He works alongside the Courier’s layout editor, Madeline Jahshan, to ensure that the paper’s print edition looks professional and clean. John’s role allows him to interact with community pillars, both students and faculty, in live interviews and communications with the newspaper readership upon publication.

John has been writing or editing for newspapers since 2017, when he began writing for his high school newspaper, The Californian. In the future, he hopes to use his experience to write meaningful and impactful news stories at a major publication.

Maddie Jahshan

Layout Editor

Maddie Jahshan is the Layout Designer for the Concordia Courier, the student-run newspaper for Concordia University Irvine. Maddie is a junior completing a Bachelor’s Degree in Graphic Design with a minor in computer science. She is originally from Fountain Valley, CA and enjoys coding as much as graphic design. She is a four-year athlete on Concordia’s Track and Field and Cross Country team

As the Layout Designer for the Courier, Maddie creates the signature -- a series of eight pages formatted for print -- of the newspaper for every issue. She takes the articles and photos and puts them together in Adobe InDesign to create eight aesthetically pleasing pages. She works closely with EIC John Symank. Maddie also works to get the printed copies distributed across campus on Fridays and is a key editor working on the launch of the Courier’s digital edition.

Maddie enjoys working digitally to put her creativity to use and collaboration with a team. She also enjoys challenges and pushes herself in all areas.

Jenna Hoffman

Campus Editor

Jenna Hoffman is the Campus Editor for the Concordia Courier. She is from Tacoma, Washington and loves the cold and the rain. Jenna is majoring in Communications with a minor in Graphic Design and she hopes to pursue a career in journalism or design in the future. Her dream job would be to work at a magazine where she could have the opportunity to utilize her journalistic and design skills by writing articles about topics that she is passionate about or by contributing to the marketing and layout efforts of said magazine.

Leonard Memon

Arts and Reviews Editor

Leonard Memon is the Arts & Reviews Editor for the Concordia Courier, student-run campus newspaper for Concordia University Irvine. Leonard is a senior from Irvine, CA, currently completing a BA in Communication Studies, Mass Communication Emphasis with a Psychology minor.

In Leonard’s current role as Arts & Reviews Editor, he writes articles for each edition and oversees other Arts & Reviews articles from his peers. Leonard's beat primarily covers music, theater, visual arts, and forensics (speech & debate). Leonard’s role allows him to interact with community pillars, both students and faculty, in live interviews and communications with the newspaper readership upon publication. He conducts interviews with various campus sources, strengthening his articles with credibility and connecting him to many diverse individuals in the community.

Leonard believes that effective writing is both intrinsically and extrinsically enjoyable and at the core of any job or activity. He pulls from his work as a writing consultant for Concordia's Writing Studio and as a speech and debate competitor to write well-organized eloquent articles for the Courier.

Maad Alkadhim

Sports Editor

Maad AlKadhim is the Sports Editor for the Concordia Courier, Concordia University Irvine’s student-led newspaper. Maad is a Senior completing a Bachelor in Communication Studies with a Mass Communication emphasis and a Marketing minor.

In Maad’s current role as the Sports Editor, he writes and brainstorms articles for each newspaper edition and oversees other sports related articles. In addition, Maad works closely with Student Athletes and coaches through in-person interviews and interactions. Also, Maad closely watches the progress of the athletes teams of Concordia University for possible headlines and stories for future editions of the newspaper.

Maad AlKadhim has been writing for the Concordia Courier since Spring 2021 as a student writer. His experience as a student gives him close connections he has with various members of the University to be able to extract great quotes and articles.

Shannon Rhodes

Media Editor

Shannon Rhodes is a passionate and driven Senior at Concordia University, Irvine. She is following her love of writing while pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Communication. Shannon holds the position as Media Editor for the Concordia Courier, a student-run newspaper that highlights events and accomplishments happening on campus. As Media Editor, Shannon works closely with Instagram and the Concordia Courier website to publish articles and highlight student accomplishments. She loves being in a team environment working closely with her peers to make the Courier the best it can possibly be. Shannon looks forward to taking her editing and media skills to pursue a career in Digital Marketing.