Fatimah Azeem (She/Her)
Fatimah Azeem (She/Her)
Editor In ChiefJack Sierputowski (He/Him)
Jack Sierputowski is a psychology senior, originally from Cleveland, Ohio. He first joined The Mercury as a staff writer in 2022, although he also served as the News Editor and Editor-in-Chief before becoming Managing Editor. During the week, Jack works in the Personality and Interpersonal Relationships Lab on campus and volunteers as a Crisis Line Texter. He hopes to pursue graduate studies in therapy and research addiction treatment.
Jack Sierputowski (He/Him)
Managing EditorGregorio Olivares Gutierrez (He/They)
Gregorio Olivares is a political science and philosophy freshman hailing from the foreign realm of Jalisco, Mexico. He is currently the News Editor at The Mercury after a scant few weeks of staff writing — which he began in the fall of 2023. Gregorio started working at The Mercury to help reduce barriers to information students may face when trying to interact with local communities both on and off campus, but through the dialectical synthesis which arises when covering the various asynchronous brands of Temoc lovers on campus, he has found a new passion; id est, working to bring about a gossip column in place of a “sport[s]” editor. Who needs “sports” “coverage” when you have chisme?
Gregorio Olivares Gutierrez (He/They)
News EditorRainier Pederson (He/Him)
Rainier Pederson is a Computer Science and Mathematics sophomore at the University of Texas at Dallas. This is his first year as Web Editor for the Mercury (and fourth year of being the web editor overall, counting his time in high school) and second year working as an artist for the Mercury (and sixth year overall). In his free time, he enjoys painting and baking.
Rainier Pederson (He/Him)
Web EditorMia Nguyen (She/Her)
Mia Nguyen is a human resource management junior. She began writing at The Mercury in 2021 and is currently the Life and Arts editor. Her love of writing drove her to join the organization and she spends her free time reading sad books, playing with her cat, listening to true crime podcasts and screaming her heart out at concerts. She hopes to finish her four years at UTD and continue writing as a side hustle outside of her HR career.
Mia Nguyen (She/Her)
Life & Arts EditorMaria Shaikh (She/Her)
Maria Shaikh is a biochemistry sophomore and healthcare hopeful that tripped and fell into a history minor, and then stumbled again into The Mercury. She joined as Copy Editor in spring 2023 and has been working as Opinion Editor since October that year, even though em dash policing will always be her passion. She can be found napping around campus, starting too many projects, writing scathing opinions, and procuring UTD’s hottest goss. After her four-year sentence at UTD, she plans to pursue a master’s degree while writing on the side, and fleeing back north to where they have four seasons.
Maria Shaikh (She/Her)
Opinion EditorFiyin Olajide (She/Her)
Fiyin Olajide is a literature sophomore with a creative writing concentration. She is responsible for copy editing the newspaper and she started working in her position this semester; she previously worked at The Mercury in fall of 2022. Fiyin loves all forms of writing and was introduced into the world of journalism through competing in UIL in high school.
Fiyin Olajide (She/Her)
Copy EditorKatheryn Ho (She/Her)
Katheryn is a marketing senior, and started her Mercury journey as a photographer. She is now the Graphics Editor at The Mercury and sometimes a photographer (if no one can make it downtown for a gig). She joined The Mercury because she wanted to do a creative extracurricular, and working for the press sounded cool. Katheryn looks forward to a creative job because that’s her dream. Katheryn has three facts she wants to share:
Katheryn Ho (She/Her)
Graphics EditorAndré Averion (He/Him)
André Averion is a psychology senior who joined The Mercury in October 2021, starting off as a video game opinion columnist before becoming a nationally-award winning Distribution & Outreach Manager, a multimedia journalist, a podcast host on The Mercury Morning News and the peer-dubbed “Mercury Mascot”. He’s best known as the resident office goblin, Mr.-breaking-news and the tea-time tita who seemingly knows something about everyone in the office. If he isn’t found captaining The Media Mobile or at the Student Union Mercury Booth: you can find him somewhere on campus “reading” comics (X-Men is goated) in a hammock or grinding Hades, Frostpunk and Pokemon Showdown. André plans to become a psychiatrist while continuing journalism on the side and hopes to one day retire with his own café bookstore.
André Averion (He/Him)
Distribution ManagerAnika Sultana (She/They)
Anika Sultana is a visual & performing arts junior with a concentration in art history. She joined The Mercury in October 2023 as a contributing artist, and became the Social Media Manager in January. After living vicariously through her friends’ experiences at newspapers like UT Austin’s The Daily Texan, Anika wanted to document meaningful stories and pursue a creative outlet for her chronic nosiness. In her free time, you can find her sleeping, making art, nonsensically rambling about things like Neon Genesis Evangelion or color theory, and geeking out over games like Disco Elysium, Final Fantasy 15, and Hades. In the near future, she will be joining the Fall 2024 cohort of Fast-Track Master’s Program students at the Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History and for her Master’s in Art History; she also hopes to pursue further graduate studies for art history and work within an educational or curatorial setting, but she’d also be more than happy to reject modernity and frolic among rabbits.
Anika Sultana (She/They)
Social Media ManagerKatya Zakar (She/Her)
Katya Zakar is a biomedical engineering and visual arts senior who cites her Kazakh and Armenian roots as a major inspiration for her work as a photographer. Katya has been a Student Media urchin as of 2022, where she has worked as a RadioUTD DJ, and is now the Photo Editor at The Mercury. If she isn’t found in the Student Media office, however, she can be seen practicing at her ballet academy or recording music at a local studio. Despite working for the press for over 9 years, and never intending on stopping, Katya anticipates to professionally specialize in prosthetic development to improve the lives of disabled people around the world.