Author bio:
Archana Pisupati is the 2025-2026 Editor in Chief of Mustang Media Group. When she’s not deep into a Slack thread, you can find her at Linnaea’s Cafe scribbling in her Moleskine or honestly screenshotting less-than-literate comments on @cpmustangnews posts.
I’m sitting at Linnaea’s on a warmer-than-usual Wednesday afternoon, writing this column the same way I’ve written almost everything important over the last four years: slightly hunched over my laptop, people-watching between sentences and drinking an iced oat milk lavender latte.
At this point, the drink feels less like caffeine and more like an emblem of myself. The baristas know my order before I say it. They also know my name.
“Iced oat milk lavender latte for Archana?”
Perfectly pronounced. Maybe that doesn’t sound monumental to you. But to me, it always is.
Seven syllables, fifteen letters and sixteen school years of me holding my breath, waiting for the last name group “P” to transpire, tilting my head down and sequestering any reaction I could. Just to avoid hearing the dreaded title I was assigned at birth. I hated my name.
If anything, I became pretty good at preparing for the moment before it happened: the hesitation, followed by the nervous laugh, the “I’m going to need help with this one,” followed by some variation of Arkana or even Arkansas.
Even when I knew people meant well, I still felt myself shrinking every time. So I got to college and shrunk my name too.
“Hi, I’m Arch!”
It worked well. I never felt my cheeks flush red when I’d have to say my name anymore.
Then I joined Mustang Media Group. I was 18 and in between; freshly brewed and aged with no words to speak and no drinks to force them out. I was immediately enamored by the echoes of passionate voices flowing through Building 26, and still am to this day.
Somewhere between late-night election graphics sessions, breaking news coverage, requesting public records and newsroom conversations, something changed. MMG gave me a family that made space feel expansive instead of conditional.
For the first time, introducing myself didn’t feel like apologizing in advance.
At the beginning of this column, I called a lavender latte my emblem. Every article I’ve written over the last four years has been accompanied by coffee in some form. But over time, one cup slowly became four: a cold brew, an iced matcha, a mocha and an iced oat milk lavender latte.
If you look closely enough, those four drinks exist everywhere inside MMG. They’re my definition of the organization.
Through rain and shine, I’ve sat at Linnaea’s with four cups on the table and laughed, cried and laughed from crying with the people who became my home.
Somewhere along the way, when I allowed three more drinks to take up space on the table, I added three letters back to my name too.
Now, MMG doesn’t exist without the name Archana, just as I no longer exist separately from the work I created, the stories I told and the people I loved here.
These past four years in college media have been loud and exhausting yet beautiful. I’ve navigated them with little reminders from my staff everyday of why I fell in love with journalism in the first place.
I learned that leadership is caring loudly and consistently. I learned that if you love something so much, it will be sure to reward and love you back in special ways. I learned that identity is not something you dilute for the comfort of those around you.
I’m not 18 and in between anymore.
I’m 22 and ready to go — mug half-full, iced lavender latte and all.
Thank you.
I have endless gratitude for these people, for they are who made my MMG experience what it was. I can’t fit that into 600 words — I hope you can understand!
Jeremy, Carly & Leila, if it wasn’t for you three, I’d very likely not be part of this organization.
Jeremy, you’re my other half and truly nothing in my career will ever compare to what we created together; the “j” in journalism is for Jeremy without a doubt! I can’t wait to visit your high-rise apartment someday with floor-to-ceiling Pulitzers. Our C&W with JARCH dreams finally came true! As MMG royalty, I’ve been to nearly every city with you at this point. Whichever ones I visit without you, I’ll always pour out a glass.
Carly, I will never forget you. Your name is forever linked in my Momentum screensaver. The last four years are defined by our random side-quests — the mall trip, that one Halloween party, cutting mangoes without a knife, the list goes on. You remember every single one and I remember you every time I see a mango, go to a mall or see Smokey the Bear. You’re as smooth as a journalism banquet shirley temple.
Leila, I vividly remember running into you on the Grand Avenue and Pacheco Way intersection my freshman year after MMG training. Your kindness made me feel seen in one of the most frightening times of my life, and that has been unwavering. Over the next 30 or so Salad Sundays, I knew we would be best friends. I’m going to miss talking to you for hours in a car and wherever we are in the world, we’ll always have Greenfield.
G, life works in mysterious ways. When I changed my whole path in MMG from reporting to pursue social media, I never in my wildest dreams expected to meet my best friend. You are unequivocally the greatest gift this organization has given me and there is truly no MMG without G.
Aviv, go vikes! I am absolutely just kidding. Part of our special bond comes from shared experiences: a horrible Bay Area high school experience, sunrise-to-sunset Sunday productions and holding the number one newspaper in the country in our hands. You’re my piece of home at Cal Poly!
Zoë, we made Tiny happen! I am constantly inspired by your innovation and cannot wait to see what incredible things you do next. Seeing you grow from social media coordinator to manager has been delightful. I think of you every time a BTS song comes on shuffle!
Fiona, I am lucky enough to have someone as supportive and friendly as you in my life! From our first Peak shared byline and Feature Writing together to our first published magazine and very own podcast together, I don’t know what I’d do without the F to my A!
Nic, you make me laugh unbelievably hard and I know no matter what thought I’m thinking, I can look across the room and expect you to have the same reaction! I will miss you and kicking with you!
Dylan, I’ll never forget walking home with you from JOUR 390 in the fall of 2024. You told me I had “too much personality” to be the Editor in Chief. I laughed really hard and applied anyway. Thank you for laughing at all my corny jokes and dealing with my personality any way!
Angel, your patience and couch conversations got me through so many intense moments as EIC. We make the best team when it comes to our weirdly aligned beat preference (LOL) and I know you’re going to do amazing things! I’ll never forget our FROCO!
Bella, from MMG Sweethearts to iMessage live bloggers, I’ve truly enjoyed getting to know you this year! You carry exactly the spirit that makes MMG so special. I can’t wait to see your name in Vogue some day!
Caroline, your spirit and professionalism is something I’ll forever look up to. Throwback to our breaking story sprint on the Chicago River! You are my perfect print princess!
Amelia Wu, you were my first and lasting impression of Mustang Media Group. Thank you for taking a chance on me as a severely underqualified freshman. Words can only do so much in explaining the impact you made on me and how you shaped what kind of leader I want to be. You’ll always be the EIC to me, and our friendship is forever sealed by cafe hopping halfway between the peninsula and Cupertino.
Matthew Ho, through inconspicuous emoji exchanges and quippy bits about publishing stories for The Athletic before Mustang News does, your support this year made it feel like you never left — maybe because you were here so often… I’ll see you at every AAJA for the rest of our lives!
Morgan Fitzgerald, I only knew you for a year in MMG, but it was the most rewarding year of my life. From early morning giggles, to our extremely online conversations that would put a victorian child in a coma, there are endless memories of us I have saved in our Meme Bible. I’m eternally grateful for all the laughs. Taco Jon, we made it.
Brandon Schwartz, I miss my brother. From our award-winning Peak spread to our especially late-night newsroom yaps, I miss the energy you brought to MMG!
Diamy & William, thank you for being my unofficial yet almost entirely official life counselors. I’ll miss coming to you with my every concern being EIC, but expect the same amount of texts as a full-time journalist. I love you both!
Kaylin & Lauren, enjoy it. It feels like a party everyday. I am so proud of you both and cannot wait to see what you accomplish as leaders of MMG! I’m always a text away. And I’d love if we could follow the live blogging Slack thread format if you do need any help.
My incredible staff of editors, thank you for dealing with my overly ambitious and sometimes insane deadlines for content production across MMG. You are all exactly what I hoped and dreamed for this year, and I know you are going to do amazing things! Special shoutout to RJ for being my favorite #daily-priorities warrior, Charlie for fall quarter inside information and couch therapy Kaylie for taking on this major editing sprint and having the best food recs and Landon for your passion and overwhelming support of the craft. Naneh, we haven’t been able to work together for long, but your unwavering passion for podcasting makes me beyond thrilled to find out what the team will look like next year!
My staff of nearly 350, you remind me every day why I fell in love with journalism to begin with. You are all incredible, and I can’t thank you enough for your passion, drive and love for the art this year.
My faculty, advisers and professors, thank you for believing in me, possibly more than I believe in myself. Some people still look at me weird when I tell them I went from social media manager to EIC, but you have never doubted me even for a second — and for that, I am forever grateful.
My DJNF Cohort, it was recently our anniversary, so happy birthday to us! I learned a great amount from you all, and it was both reassuring and extraordinary to have an audience-first family like this one. I’ll never forget our zoo trip, dinner at Vietnam Café, inconspicuous last-day Rocky Steps side quest and many MANY La Colombe visits.
Juliana, Anusha, Ava, Ashleigh, Alexia, Elissa, Houston never had a problem because to me, you’re Houston! Thank you for the most incredible summer. I literally never stop talking about it and it gets annoying, I’m sure, but it was the most transformative summer of my life. I am constantly so inspired by you all, and I’m honored to have even sat in the same office as you. Juliana and Anusha, thank you for your constant support that transcended timezones as we all navigated student newsroom leadership this year.
Mom and Dad, thank you for taking a chance on your sometimes outlandish, always stubborn daughter. I often think about what the aunties and uncles said when you had to muster up the coverage to tell them I wasn’t going to become a doctor, but your faith in me was always unwavering. Your constant support and desire to make my dreams come true is the only way I could’ve ever imagined making it this far in the industry.
Aarathi, you’ve only known me for 85% of your life, but I’ve known you for 100% of mine. You are the most supportive, kind and hardworking sister ever. Thank you for the late-night laughs, Arthur, Bratz and various other children’s TV show reruns when my brain literally couldn’t anymore. Thank you for your high-rise Chicago apartment too. That view was key to inspiring me when I built graphics templates for Mustang News my sophomore year.
To our audience, thank you for loving, hating and being part of MMG just as much as we all are. We do this because we love it, but at the end of the day, we’re audience-first. I hope you felt that this year, and it continues to echo through our organization for years to come.
To MMG, thank you for being my start, end and everything in between. I love you more than I could love anything else in my life. This has been the best four years of my life.
Without further ado, I will have to bid you adieu! This was Archana Pisupati, Mustang Media Group Editor-in-Chief, signing out.
