As I take the time to reflect and write this final letter, I am wholeheartedly inspired by what Rampage has accomplished and how it has affected my personal life. I am so grateful to have been one of your Editors-In-Chief this year and am faced with dual emotions as I look back on the memories I have made during my years in the club: both gratitude and sadness, nostalgia and hope. It’s hard to believe that my time, as well as that of many of our senior editors, is coming to a close as graduation quickly approaches.
This year could not have been as successful as it was without my Co-Editor-In-Chief, Savannah. From leading meetings to last-minute layout fixes, we’ve experienced it all together, and I am so proud of what we have accomplished side by side. Your leadership and friendship, along with your dedication to journalism, have truly motivated me to expand beyond my borders, and I am so grateful!
I would also like to thank our seniors, who have passionately brought new ideas, taken on double the work, and given the club an overall positive and comforting atmosphere. Our Life Editor Ina Nip, Entertainment Editor Rachel LeMoult, and Sports Editor McKenna Houston, thank you so much for all of your hard work and dedication to our club!
To our Online Editor Lana Jepsen, our News Editor Emma Ufakacar, our Social Media Manager Maryam Abdel-Wahab, and our Assistant Editors Caroline McDermott, Zooey Zhou, and Aubrey Kwon: I want to express my appreciation for your willingness to pick up the work where needed, including sometimes writing more than three articles per edition, eagerly volunteering to distribute the paper, and coming to meetings with an unmatched passion for journalism. We couldn’t have asked for a better staff!
Furthermore, I would like to thank our writers for showing up to our meetings, expressing their voices in the paper, and for taking risks. Without you, our pages would be left unfilled.
To all of our readers, I would like to thank you for being there to pick up the newspaper each time a new edition came out, reading the stories written by your classmates, students, sons, and daughters, and most of all for supporting the voices of the youth throughout it all. To our patrons, thank you so much for your continuous support and confidence in us to provide a quality newspaper, and for reminding us why student journalism matters.
To our advisor Mrs. Casey, I want to thank you for all that you do for Rampage, especially for our online presence. Your work is vital to Rampage and we appreciate you so much!
Finally, I want to give a special thank you to Mrs. Manzo, without whom I would not at all be where I am today. From the very beginning, you’ve patiently guided not only me but everyone in the club, encouraging and teaching us all the importance of speaking through our articles. Thank you for always taking the time for us and believing in this group; your advising has carried me through more moments than I can count. I have grown not only as an editor but as a person, and I am privileged to have been able to work with such a passionate advisor. I truly appreciate everything you have provided me with and taught me–these are skills that I will take with me throughout college and beyond. Thank you for everything!
When I first joined the club, I had no idea of the impact it would have on me. What started as a passion for writing quickly became a priority in my life–I found a voice and a community to which I could devote hours editing, designing layouts, and sharing the stories that mattered most to our school, whether recapping sporting events, sharing new book and movie recommendations, highlighting headline world news, surveying our school community, and much more.
Thank you, Rampage, for giving me a home and a voice in our high school community. I wish everyone the best, and have a wonderful summer!
