I joined journalism as a sophomore because I enjoyed writing and thought this new form might be fun for me to try.
I never thought that it would become the class I looked forward to every day, that the experiences I had would teach me how powerful of a thing it is to tell people’s stories, and I especially didn’t think the essay that got me in to college would be about what journalism has meant to me over the past 3 years.
When Mr. Alvarez asked me to be the editor, I didn’t know if I was cut out for it. I’d worked with two incredibly talented female editors in the years before me, and besides worrying if I could do the job as well as they did, I thought that most of all I would miss the fun part – the reporting, the writing.
And I did at times, but what I came to love this year was something entirely different. Every time I published a story, I was proud of it, even more than I had ever had been even with my own stories.
We take an incredibly hands-on, learn by doing approach in teaching new journalists how to write. Out of our team of 9 journalists this year, 8 of them had never written like this before. From the first day of class until the last, we assigned stories to them, we frustrated them, we demanded professionalism and skill, and they did not disappoint.
They worked constantly, and they worked hard. I never fully understood what anyone could really get out of being a teacher, a director, a coach; but now I think I do. Being able to see each person’s progress from their first story until their last was amazing, and quite honestly inspiring.
To Olivia, Aaron, Sebastian, Megan, Bella, Mulan, Adam, James, and Oliver: thank you for your unwavering dedication this year. You taught me that being a journalist is being a part of a team – and we made an incredible team. I couldn’t be more proud of what we accomplished.
To Mr. Alvarez: thank you for introducing me to all of this. It has shaped me into who I am today and I’m not sure where I would be headed if it weren’t for you.
I will forever be grateful for the time I spent in that little newsroom of ours. Thank you to everyone who was there with me.
Your humble editor,
Avery Colborn