Kristan began working in the news writing industry in college, where she made her way up from a freelancer to a copy editor, news & politics editor and eventually the editor-in-chief. She was the first person in the publication's 45-year history to serve in the role of editor-in-chief for two consecutive years.

Kristan was hired directly out of college to work as a copy editor at a local daily with a circulation of about 40,000. Her duties there included headline, deck, caption and other writing, as well as proofreading and editing for clarity, grammar, punctuation, AP Style and accuracy.

Kristan is currently the publisher of an independent student newspaper, where she advises a small staff of editors on legality, writing and editing, design and other visual elements.