Meliha Anthony has been The Stinger’s photo editor for two years, earning numerous awards as she covered breaking news as well as features and sports. She plans to attend St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland, to double-major in philosophy and the history of mathematics and science. 

Ultimately, she wishes to go into environmental journalism, but plans to study more about the world — while wearing her Birkenstocks and carrying her camera — to learn more about the world before she writes about it.

Stinger: Where do you like to take photos?

Anthony: My favorite place to photograph is probably Lockridge Park — it’s right behind my house, and it’s my go-to whenever I’m in the mood to photograph, especially in the spring because it’s so beautiful when everything is blooming.

Stinger: When did you begin taking photos?

Anthony: I first started photographing when I was 13 years old, just on my cell phone for fun. I took a photography class at EHS when I was a freshman and my grandfather gave me a digital camera for my birthday, and the rest is pretty much history — I completely fell in love with photography after that.

Stinger: Where do you see yourself in a decade?

Anthony: I hope in 10 years I’m still writing and photographing, but also I hope I’m having adventures. I would love to join the Peace Corps at some point after college, or travel around the country in a van, or something crazy like that. 

Stinger: Best high school memories?

Anthony: My favorite school memory is the first football game I went to with three of my best friends, at the beginning of tenth grade. Before that I was kind of a snob and didn’t really want to go to football games, but I ended up having a really good time. The four of us took a photo together that night which is actually still the background picture on my phone.

Stinger: What was one of your favorite assignments to cover?

Anthony: When I was a junior I photographed Jan Brett, the children’s author, visiting our school. I got to sit in on her interview with PBS39 to photograph her. I felt so official and I just had this surreal moment where I realized that photography and journalism might be something I wanted to actually do as a career, not just a hobby.

Stinger: How do you feel about graduating?

Anthony: I’m both excited and nervous. It’s a strange feeling, more than anything, because I’ve gotten so used to life in high school. There are so many friends who have become like family to me, and teachers who have been mentors, so there’s a lot of people I’m going to miss. But then, I’m super excited to explore independence and life outside of high school too, so it’s bittersweet.