Jayden Pohlman

My Published Work

The Slate •

Your World Today Commentary: I'll be home for Christmas

When I was driving home this past weekend, I decided to bite the bullet and turn on some Christmas music — controversial, I know. For some people, this is perfectly normal, while others will consider me crazy for giving in this early. 
Personally, I believed that after Thanksgiving was the only appropriate time to partake in Christmas activities, but now I am listening to Christmas music in the middle of November. Things change. 
I tried really hard to embrace the Christmas spirit during my fest...
The Slate •

Your World Today Commentary: A letter to my CJM family

From the moment I proposed the idea of running for homecoming royalty, I was overwhelmed by the support I received.
I contemplated the idea of participating in SU’s 2025 homecoming court for quite a while but was not sure if I truly wanted to. After discussing the idea with a few of my peers, I was amazed by their enthusiasm and quickly signed up.
Once I received affirmation that I was selected for the court, along with the scoring details, I was intimidated. There was a lot to do in a short amo...
The Slate •

Your World Today Commentary: Diversity is not a bad thing

I can still recall the exact moment I read the email.
I was in the Slate office overseeing the first print edition of the semester alongside Megan Sawka, the managing editor. It was the first day of classes, my first production as Editor-in-Chief and my first time using a beach waver – which I will never be doing again. It’s safe to say that all of these “firsts” put my stress level through the roof. 
Around noon, I got an email from SU Assistant Vice President for Inclusion, Belonging and Socia...
The Slate •

Sabrina Carpenter ‘Man’s Best Friend’: Collar a hit

When I was lying on Australia’s beautiful beaches without a care in the world, I had “Espresso” on repeat. Sabrina Carpenter also released “Please, Please, Please” while I was in the land down under, and it was quickly added to my daily rotation. 
I can’t say I was overly excited when I heard that Carpenter had a new album in the works, and I didn’t even listen to it the first day it came out. But when I started seeing TikToks backed by some of her new music, I decided to give it a chance.
“Man’...
The Slate •

Your World Today Commentary: The beginning of the end

Warning: cliché incoming.
When I was a kid, I never quite understood why adults made such a big fuss over how much taller I had grown since they last saw me. 
Family friends or relatives that only came around once every few years often would say something along the lines of: “You were only about this big the last time I saw you. Man, does time ever fly.”



I always smiled and nodded my head, but truthfully, in my adolescent...
The Slate •

Your World Tomorrow Commentary: Everything happens for a reason

This article is a companion piece to the regular "Your World Today" commentary. As the academic year nears its end, The Slate transitions from one Editor-in-Chief to another. Read 2024-2025 EIC Connor Niszczak's piece here.
Throughout my college career, “everything happens for a reason” was the mantra I adopted to soften disappointment’s harsh blow. 
I repeated the phrase to myself when I drifted apart from my best friend from high school, when my car was towed sophomore year and when I didn’t l...
The Slate •

Australians are afraid of what lives in North America, too

Before embarking on my journey halfway across the world to Australia, I was repeatedly warned of the dangerous creatures that lurk down under. 
Seriously, I lost count of the number of times I heard “aren’t you scared about the poisonous snakes and spiders” or “I just saw this video of a kangaroo beating someone up.”
Now I know most of these warnings were well intentioned, but they had me checking my bed for spiders every night, worried that there might be a snake in my toilet and running away f...
The Slate •

Culture Spotlight: Nicola Puggé

Nicola Puggé, an international student from Bempflingen, Germany, is studying journalism and competing on the Shippensburg track and field team. She is committed to Shippensburg for all four years of her college career and is currently a junior.
Puggé never really considered studying abroad in America. 
“I didn’t think I’d go to America because I didn’t know a lot about the college system. All I knew were all these big universities with these real good track teams, and I was like, ‘there's no wa...