“Midget completely full of herself” is how Robbyn Mitchell chooses to describe herself in 10 words or less. No matter what she is doing, the 5-foot-2-inch Washington, D.C., native uses confidence to her advantage.

So it might not be surprising that Mitchell, a junior at Florida A&M University, dove into journalism headfirst.

Freshman year, she was hired at the college newspaper, The Famuan, as a page designer. Since then she has climbed the ranks to become managing editor. Mitchell described her quick ascension as “working my way in like a comma -- I’m everywhere!”

Mitchell originally wanted to focus on magazine journalism, but she quickly concluded that newspaper journalism was the better choice.

“Newspaper journalism became my practicality,” Mitchell said. “News makes sense if you want to work in magazines.”

After talking with several graduates of The New York Times Student Journalism Institute, Mitchell decided to apply.

“This is the place to be,” Mitchell said. “I need to work on all aspects of journalism. I want to be 10 times better than I was when I came.”

Mitchell said she hopes to eventually land a job at a medium-sized newspaper as a copy editor on the news desk. But she insists that, just as with her college journalism career, she will not stop there.

“I plan to work my way up the editor food chain,” Mitchell said.

Becoming a newspaper editor is a lofty goal, said Mitchell, but she remains optimistic: ”I’m still shooting for the moon.”

JESSICA DE VAULT