When Patrick Hood ’26 first arrived at Arcadia, stepping into a room full of strangers didn’t come naturally. Now, as editor-in-chief of the student-run publication Loco Mag, he’s leading a team of creators while continuing to push beyond his comfort zone.

“I’m a shy person, so I’ve had to push myself a bit to join clubs and meet new people,” Hood said.

Through this position, the English major from Doylestown, Pa., has developed leadership and collaboration skills in working directly with others to produce content for Loco Mag.

“Everyone brings something different to the table, and one of my goals as EIC has been to try to get every staff member to create content about a topic that interests them,” Hood said. “Some people enjoy writing movie reviews, while others are great with photo essays about places they’ve visited, for example. It’s important to find your creative niche, and I think being a part of a group like Loco Mag can help with that quite a bit.”

With Loco Mag, Hood started the sports history column “Run It Back,” sharing stories of playoff series, coaches, and rivalries in baseball, football, and ice hockey. The column was informed in part by the writing he’s done with the Seattle Seahawks blog, SB Nation’s Field Gulls, over the last two years.

“One of my favorite pieces with Field Gulls was from earlier this year — during the lead-up to the NFC Championship Game,” Hood said. “I wrote about the Seahawks’ playoff history against divisional opponents, which gave a great opportunity to showcase my research skills in addition to my abilities as a writer.”

Hood has applied skills he’s learned in working with SB Nation’s Field Gulls to his leadership of Loco Mag, helping him to improve the experience for the team.

“Throughout my time writing for these sports blogs, I have learned how to provide constructive criticism while also not detracting from the writer’s own voice,” he said. “Oftentimes, there are some areas of an article that can be improved upon with a few simple fixes for things like grammar and accuracy, but it’s also important to make sure that you’re not making the writer feel discouraged for not adhering to your personal writing style. Every writer has their own voice, and one of my priorities as EIC has been to help people to try to find their voices as writers and content creators.”

Hood’s experience with different media platforms has broadened his range.

“I feel like this has helped me to expand my horizons and do more as a writer,” he said. “Previously, I did not have a whole lot of experience with writing about things that weren’t related to sports, so I now have a greater incentive to write and submit content about a breadth of topics and interests, like music and video games, for example.”

Outside of Loco Mag, Hood has been involved in the Hiking Club and Environmental Network. Among his proudest accomplishments, he counts earning the rank of Eagle Scout.

After graduating, Hood hopes to continue exploring both writing and the world beyond campus.

“I’m hoping to do some traveling,” he said. “My grandfather bought an RV a few years ago, and we’ve taken some trips in it during the past few summers. We’re hoping to go on a longer trip together this summer.”