Since you may have already been seeing my name in the Leader and on the myleaderpaper.com website (and you’ll be seeing it a lot more in the future), I’d like to introduce myself. I’m Abby Stetina and, yes, I’m a member of Gen Z. We’ve moved into the work force, so watch out!
Unless a couple of years working at Walgreens in high school count, I just started my first “real” job at the Leader on June 1. I’ll be covering the news in the cities of Byrnes Mill and Eureka and the Northwest R-1 and Rockwood school districts, mainly for the West Side Leader and the Eureka Leader. You’ll also see my byline in the other two Leader newspapers – the Jefferson County Leader and the Arnold-Imperial Leader – from time to time.
I come from a large family, so the Stetina name might sound familiar to some of you. My father, Jonathan Stetina, is one of 17 children who have lived, worked, married or died in the Jefferson County area. It’s hard to count, but I believe I have more than 40 first cousins and more than 100 second cousins. I’m sure you can imagine how stressful the holidays can be.
I was born in St. Louis and spent the first few years of my life in Jefferson City since my father served in the Missouri National Guard. When I was 8, he was transferred to Jefferson Barracks, so, of course, my mom, Dana, my twin brother, Zach, and I moved with him. We settled in Barnhart, where I’ve lived ever since, except for the past few years while I was a student at the University of Missouri in Columbia.
The name Dana Stetina might also sound familiar to you because my mom owned and operated the Icing Cafe in Oakville from 2013 to 2021. Her cupcakes were to die for, and I’m sincerely sorry if you never got the chance to try them.
I attended Antonia Elementary and Antonia Middle schools (Go Bulls!) and Seckman High School (Go Jags!) before motoring off to college.
For the past four years I’ve been surviving and thriving at Mizzou’s School of Journalism (commonly referred to among its graduates as just the J-school). The university journalism program prides itself on the Missouri Method, in which students are pushed into the deep end of the journalism pool to see if they stay afloat. Freshman are expected to get involved in various news organizations early if they plan to graduate.
I immediately gravitated to the print side of journalism and joined the student-run Maneater. After a year of testing my sea legs as a news reporter, I lobbied for the creation of its Fun & Games section, which I ran for another year. That section was my baby, and I’m proud of my small but mighty staff for its creativity. Month after month, we concocted awesome crosswords, horoscopes and social media content.
Moving into my upper-level courses, I began reporting for the daily city paper, the Columbia Missourian. That paper has been around since the dawn of time, or at least since 1908, and working there is a rite of passage for any respectable Mizzou J-school graduate.
I reported for the community beat under the command of my fearless and fearsome editor Jeanne Abbott, covering the people and events that make Columbia the vibrant city it is. Every day was a new story as I was tossed into the courtroom to cover not-guilty verdicts, write profiles on legendary agriculturists and investigate industrial fires.
It was then that I learned I loved the people behind the stories. I loved seeing who makes a community tick.
In my last year at Mizzou, I switched to Vox, a monthly print magazine that runs in the Missourian. I gained confidence in my writing voice and my editing skills there in the City Life section.
I’m most proud of my feature story about the feral cats of Columbia and how a group of selfless volunteers are working to save them. Something you should know about me is I’m an absolute softie when it comes to cats. My little guy, Felix, is the light of my life (Is that too dramatic to say? It’s true, though).
Outside of the J-school, I minored in French and digital global studies. I love to travel and am grateful to have gone to some pretty rad places. The summer before my final year at Mizzou I interned at the Brussels Times, an English newspaper in the capital of the European Union. There, I learned flexibility and grace as I navigated a newsroom whose staff spoke a combined 25 languages.
I’m so excited to now have the chance to cover Jefferson County and the community I grew up in. The Eureka area is new territory for me, but over the years I’ve taken a spin or two on the rollercoasters at Six Flags, and I’ve enjoyed a couple of cones at Spooner’s. I can’t wait to dig into the city and experience the Scarecrow Festival and Eureka Days.
My intentions at the Leader are to cover and reflect the amazing people who make up Jefferson County. The good, the bad, the sparkling and the not-so-shiny should all be within our pages. I will approach my stories with an open mind, eager to learn – and the desire to share what I learn.
Got any tips or cute cat photos? My email is abbystetina@leaderpublications.biz. You may also reach me at Leader World Headquarters by calling 636-931-7560.
