Kyle Fisher loves his powerful platform. 

The Howard University junior jumper cherishes the unique opportunity to serve as the sports editor of the prestigious Hilltop student newspaper. 

"Being sports editor is a significant responsibility to me because I know that there are people out there like me that need the stories behind sporting events to feel like they're getting the full experience of being a fan," Fisher said. "With the Howard University and the HBCU community specifically, I know that publications typically don't bother to look at how sports impact the community. I aim to ensure there's no topic in that realm that people can't go to The Hilltop and learn more about." 

Not only does Fisher produce plenty of impactful written masterpieces, but he also creates memorable showpieces when flying with the grace of a butterfly off the jumping board. 

"Jumping in track and field is the most beautiful thing in the world," Fisher said. "It's an art, which means I can make it my own. I love that I get to stand on the runway alone, be in control, and then I get to fly. From a mental standpoint, it's a different beast in the sport because you have to be locked in and keep your composure through so many different attempts for a longer time than any running events." 

A strategic, legal, and management communications major, Fisher has made his mark on and off the track for Howard. He is an elite jumper who will only get better. This past season, he helped the Bison finish second during the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) indoor and outdoor championships. 

He was second in the long jump (23 feet, 5'5 inches) and third in the triple jump (47-9.75) at the MEAC outdoor championships. The long jump effort was Fisher's collegiate best performance. 

"Helping Howard track and field become a real force in the MEAC is something my freshman class talked about a lot before we got to school," said Fisher, a fantastic chess player. "We've been able to stack a lot of trophies, especially last year, but now we want the big one. We came in second place during the conference championships with narrow losses to Norfolk State during my first two years, and that stung a lot." 

This season the junior is already starting the season off with a bang. The Georgia native led the way in the field events, winning the long jump (7.15 meters) and triple jump (15.02 meters) while accumulating 18 points in HU's victory at the HBCU & Ivy Challenge.

For now, the track accolades are secondary for Fisher. 

While he loves his experience at Howard, Fisher is already thinking bigger and how the strength of his storytelling will impact others and shift narratives in a positive direction. Fisher invested in his future this summer by attending the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention in Birmingham, Alabama, and the Discover Bloomberg: HBCU Academy of Excellence in New York. 

Those opportunities enhanced Fisher's passion for storytelling. 

"I know I want to make a difference through communications because that's how I believe the most progress can be made," Fisher said. "I played sports growing up, and at about 12 years old, I started to consume sports media. I'd watch the game and then see how people turned on athletes and coaches based on narratives perpetuated about them in the media to the point where it affected contracts. Seeing that kind of power in communication had a big impression on me, and it made me want to positively impact such a powerful industry where not a ton of Black men are telling our own stories." 

One crucial encounter that fueled Fisher's desire to write was a conversation with his youth football coach. You may have heard of him. Rodney Harrison. 

Yes, that one. 

Yes, Super Bowl champion Rodney Harrison, who played for the San Diego Chargers and New England Patriots. 

"He coached us in football games on Saturdays and managed to be on NBC's broadcast of Sunday Night Football the next day," Fisher said. "He was an athlete at the highest level, a coach, and a respected sports media member, which was everything I wanted to be. During our conversation when I was young, he mentioned that studying communication in college allowed him to do these things. 

"Ever since that conversation when I was 11 years old, I aimed to study communications in school while playing a sport. His relentless approach to practice also inspired and motivated how I worked, and that approach helped me." 

That work ethic spilled over to the track, where Fisher developed a strong mindset of excellence, which helped him conquer adversity. He was consistently injured early in his high school career. It was a frustrating time for Fisher, but it made him more determined and focused to achieve success. 

Fisher, who started running track at seven, had a senior year to cherish by winning the Georgia High School Association Class 7A triple jump state championship and Gwinnett County titles in the same event. 

"I dealt with so many injuries in high school, and this stopped me from competing a lot during my first two years," Fisher said. "Then COVID took away my junior year, so I didn't get to finish my season until my senior year. By then, I had to do whatever it took to win a state championship and attend the right school. Funny enough, the fix to my constant injury issues was that I had to be tougher. It was my only choice because I was a senior, so I had to be aggressive through the pain, and it made a difference." 

A fan of LeBron James and the Atlanta Falcons, Fisher's immediate goal is helping Howard win the MEAC championship. He also has some personal goals, which he believes will be the difference in the size of the trophies returning to campus next year. 

"I earned some medals, but they weren't gold, which means I'm leaving points on the table," Fisher said. "It starts with how I compete with my teammates at practice. I want to pull off the 

long and triple jump double. That's not something done often in the MEAC, and I'm knocking on the door in both jumps. If I can get that done, it would be legacy-defining, and that's what I'm chasing." 

That would be an awesome accomplishment for the ultimate storyteller with a pleasant personality who will change the world with his words. 

Rob Knox is an award-winning professional. A member of the Lincoln (Pa.) Athletics Hall of Fame, Knox currently serves as the Senior Director of Strategic Communications for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Knox enjoyed a distinguished career as an athletics communicator for Lincoln, Kutztown, Coppin State, Towson, and UNC Greensboro. He also worked at ESPN and for the Delaware County Daily Times. Recently, Knox was honored by College Sports Communicators (CSC) with the Mary Jo Haverbeck Trailblazer Award and the NCAA with its Champion of Diversity award. Knox is a graduate of Lincoln University and a past president of the College Sports Information Directors Association of America (CoSIDA).