Meet Features: The Whimsy of The Griffin

By: Hannah Wiley, Managing Editor

The most iconic (though I’m biased) section got a new member this semester, so I figured it was time to introduce the office’s most whimsical and fun staff members!

Our features editor – Kaitlyn Belile (KB) – is a senior majoring in communication studies who joined the staff in fall 2025. When she’s not writing about sports in the office you can find her running the social media accounts for the men’s hockey and baseball teams! When she’s not doing that you can find her working events in the ESPN lab. She’s also vice president of CrescenDON’Ts, which checks out because she’s constantly singing, and doing it beautifully!

Her favorite place on campus is actually an off-campus house on Hughes Ave. – where Katie Dusza, Kaitlin O’Meara and I live – or the ESPN lab. Her favorite place on Thursday night however is the office where you can find her watching a TV show while writing her articles for the week (it helps her lock in) or in various places around the office talking to anyone who will listen! Her unofficial assigned seat is next to mine. 

Outside of school KB loves to read! Her most recent book she read was “Long Game,” the last book in the “Heated Rivalry" series. She’s also very crafty making jewelry, doing gem and diamond art or painting. Her favorite memory being on staff this year was our annual trip to San Francisco! “Just being able to spend every single day with my friends was so fun. Waking up and just doing everything, like getting coffee every morning. We were so motivated and ready to go every day, and that just really inspired me to be better. I specifically loved the Saturday of the trip, when we went to Ghirardelli Square and just hung out,” KB said. 

If you’ve ever been in The Griffin office you know our decorations can only be best described as whimsical chaos. KB’s personal favorite decoration is a new edition this semester – the behavior chart – but really only because she never ends up on a bad level. “I also like sometimes the Xbox and the TV when we use it for good things and not for Colin to beat me in Madden,” KB said. 

KB’s counterpart – Madison Howard – is a freshman majoring in psychology who joined staff this past January! Other than The Griffin, Madison is a tour guide for admissions, a member of Phi Sigma Sigma, the United Student Association and The Quadrangle. 

Her favorite spots on campus are in the library or in her dorm room! Her unofficial assigned seat in the office is in the former features editor’s – Maddy Lockwood – old spot at the back desk! Fan fact: she chose that seat before even knowing the Features section legacy it held! In discussing her favorite parts of the office, Madison said, “Everybody's in the office [on a Thursday night]. I can talk to a bunch of different people. I get to bother Javo, I sit across from him.” 

Outside of school, like KB, Madison loves to read! She’s currently reading “S” by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst, but her favorite book is “Every Last Word” by Tamara Ireland Stone. Other than that she also liked to play Sims 4 or other video games and hang out with her friends!

Her favorite article she’s written while on staff is “Canisius conversation addresses food apartheid” published on Feb. 27. “It was fun going to the event and learning more about it, because I didn't really know anything. So, learning more about that and getting to write it,” Madison said. 

If you get the chance, be sure to check out the fun things KB and Madison have going on in Features every week!