Mira Lowe: a woman and current UF faculty member who has held many titles, earned an array of awards and has broken many a glass ceiling.
She’s one of those women you’ve always admired and always wondered how they got where they are.
“Successful careers are never planned. We think we’re planning them, but they’re not.”
Mira Lowe’s career has been an interesting one, full of twists and turns, each position more rigorous than the last.
Being the daughter of a nurse, Lowe grew up with the intention of becoming a doctor. After beginning her undergraduate degree at Brooklyn College as a pre-med major, however, things changed.
“I discovered that that wasn’t my strength or my passion,” Lowe said.
After switching to journalism, Lowe found her niche. She said the cliche definition of journalism is “giving voice to the voiceless,” but to her, journalism is telling other people’s stories, sharing their experiences and holding people accountable.
With no guidelines or how-to books written in the past by people in similar situations, Lowe had to create her own.
“Finding my way as a woman, and a woman of color, where there were very few role models that I could look to, I basically had to define for myself.” Besides her mother, another one of her major influences was Diahann Carroll, an actress who played a nurse in the late 1960’s show Julia.
Since joining the world of journalism, she’s made herself well-known in the community. In the past, Lowe has worked as a senior editor at CNN Digital in Atlanta, editor-in-chief of JET magazine in Chicago and as an editor and recruiter for Newsday Newspaper in Long Island.
But it wasn’t always easy for Lowe to figure out her career moves.
She currently serves as the assistant dean for student experiences and director of the Innovation News Center at the University of Florida, where she specializes in helping young journalists plant their roots in the industry.
The Innovation News Center, or INC, is a premiere immersion venue that gives students hands-on, real-world experience for them to be successful in their chosen field, which is mostly journalism.
Lowe credits her success to her undying self-determination and the fear of feeling “stuck.” She said her many changes of job titles and responsibilities have been moves to remain relevant.
“My husband will jokingly say I get bored easily. I don’t know if it’s boredom, but I like challenges, and I like challenging myself.”
When asked about her past, Lowe said she was already ready for the next step, always planning ahead. But when asked about her future, she takes a moment, and answers with a simple, “I don’t know.”
While she remains open for any new opportunities, she’s happy with her work and life at the University of Florida.