Managing editor Apurva Mahajan will be the next editor in chief of The Diamondback, Maryland Media Inc. announced Tuesday.

Mahajan, a sophomore journalism and government and politics major, will serve as the editor in chief for the 2024-25 school year. He will officially take the role on April 14 and will succeed Hannah Ziegler.

He appreciates all of the effort The Diamondback’s staff puts into the publication and plans to spend the next year leading the staff in producing quality journalism.

“I want to dedicate myself to … help us do the fabulous journalism that we do as smoothly as possible,” Mahajan said.

Mahajan has worked for The Diamondback since the beginning of his freshman year in August 2022. He started out as a copy editor before becoming a managing editor in April 2023.

Mahajan previously wrote for Stories Beneath the Shell and was promotions director for WMUC 90.5 FM, the University of Maryland’s student radio station. He also currently works for the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at this university’s journalism school.

Mahajan hopes to help the newsroom diversify its members by hiring more students from majors outside of the journalism college and hiring members of various ethnicities and races to better represent this university’s student body.

“I want to make this a place where every person in the newsroom feels welcome, feels like they have a place here,” Mahajan said.

Mahajan also wants to prioritize communication between members of The Diamondback and university students in order to bring more visibility to the work of newsroom staff.

Corey Dade, the president of Maryland Media’s board, said Mahajan was appointed for his blend of intellect, commitment to journalism, and the passion he shares with his peers.

“We believe he’ll bring a fresh perspective to The Diamondback’s coverage of campus life and the College Park community,” Dade said.

Despite only being a sophomore, Mahajan has consistently served as a leader in the newsroom across the last year, Ziegler said.

“He has been so mature and conducted himself in a way that makes everyone in the newsroom, regardless of their age, look up to him in so many ways,” she said.

In addition to his maturity and leadership, Ziegler said Mahajan brings a bright energy to The Diamondback’s staff. Every day, she said, Mahajan shows up to the newsroom with a smile on his face.

“You can tell that he adores being here and adores the people he works with,” Ziegler said. “I think that is the most important quality in the new leader for the newsroom.”

Mahajan was recently awarded a 2023-24 American Copy Editors Society scholarship for demonstrating exemplary editing skills.

Mahajan hopes under his leadership everyone will feel like they have a place in the newsroom.

“I want to be as friendly as possible,” Mahajan said. “We’re all learning and I want everyone to feel welcome.”