“I feel as though the best trait for the next editor-in-chief to have would be the ability to adapt to certain situations. To keep your cool, even when you feel as though everything is too much.”

These were the words that last year’s Editor-in-Chief (EIC), Nicole Nantz, said in her final reflection to the next EIC. Back in 2019, when my 14 year old self was picking classes for my freshman year, I remember picking Journalism simply because it was a writing-intensive class and I liked to write. I had no intention of staying in the class after the first semester. Four years later, I am sitting on my couch, writing up my last ever article for North Star Newspaper as the Editor-in-Chief of a nationally recognized news website, never even crossing my mind that being an “Editor-in-Chief” was possible.

To be quite frank, up until this year, I felt like nobody even really knew I wrote for the newspaper. Back on Zoom, during Fall of 2020, it was quite literally me and my current Managing Editor, Aiden Stanciu, working on the paper, pumping out three stories every couple of weeks. Nowadays, everybody thinks I am majoring in journalism because all I talk about is NSN, because it is the activity I care the most about, and I want others to care about it, too. 

Behind the scenes of NSN, a lot changed. We couldn’t have gotten to where we are without adjustments, some major, some minor, along the way, which ultimately formed the little tight-knit community that NSN is today.

No reporter looks and acts the same. If you were to walk into room 3055 during 9th period, you would see all four grades represented, each person with their own individual interests. Some strictly stick to sports reporting, others take more of an interest covering school-wide events. You have the album reviewers, the movie reviewers and the bookworms. You have the reporters who aren’t afraid to cover the controversial international, national and schoolwide issues, while you have others who like to stick to fluffy subjects that cater more towards personal interest. If you happen to stop by on a Friday, you may be in for a treat, because our “Food on Friday’s” do not disappoint.

In other words, there is a place for everybody on NSN’s staff. It’s one of the most welcoming and collaborative spaces I have ever been a part of, and I hope to see that same energy carried over in future years.

No one said being the Editor-in-Chief was an easy job. I am entrusted with making sure everybody meets their deadlines, staying up to date on everybody’s stories and also responsible for going back into SNO to remove any oxford commas that sneaked by editing rounds. Additionally, I also have to have the ability to take charge and be assertive when need be, something I have historically struggled with. 

My summer before the year I stepped into the Editor-in-Chief role, fortunately, helped me prepare for these challenges, when I attended the “Scripps Howard Emerging Journalists Program” at Elon University. Meeting other passionate journalism nerds like myself, along with building a national network that supported me, helped me break out of my shell and give me the confidence to lead a staff of 20+ people.

So as I close and say goodbye to another successful year with NSN, writing for a newspaper has taught me a lot of things. First and foremost, you have to stay on top of the news; nobody likes reading old stories. Second, there will always be news so long as our country doesn’t prohibit it, so knowing how to discern credible and non-credible sources, when to consume a piece of media or take a mental health break is incredibly important. Third, I believe that having good media literacy is essential to surviving in a world where people believe the first thing they see on their screens. 

I also encourage the future staff of NSN to keep pushing the NSN name out there, whether through TikToks, journalism competitions or simply word of the mouth. The immense talent that this group has is incredible, and I truly believe that in future years, North Star Newspaper will be a high school newspaper powerhouse.