After all the classes, adventures, friends and long nights that have made my college experience, when I reflect on my time at AU, I’ll think first of The Eagle.
I never expected that The Eagle would become the predominant part of my college experience. I never expected to think about the student newspaper every day for three years. Nonetheless, The Eagle changed my life.
The passion, dedication and talent that our staff display amazes me every day. Our sports writers, collectively, have barely missed a game this year. Our photographers routinely traverse the city, collecting the perfect images for our stories. Our social media editors update our pages every day and constantly come to me with new ideas.
Working as The Eagle’s editor-in-chief is the most challenging and rewarding thing I’ve ever done. I’m proud of all the investigations, features, breaking news and multimedia projects we’ve produced in the last year. We’ve raised our standards and challenged ourselves to do better.
It has been a tumultuous year on campus. As we’ve covered protests and policy, we’ve made mistakes and learned from them. As I’ve pushed our staff to go the extra mile, to really understand their impact, they’ve exceeded my expectations at every turn.
Our diversity, equity and inclusion meetings have become a welcoming, comfy space where staff share their expertise and learn from each other. Our editorial board meetings are lively and considered. This is what The Eagle was always meant to be, and a collaborative learning environment has empowered us to do some of our best work.
I’m proudest of the community we’ve built, and I have so many people to thank for that.
Thank you to Jordan Young and Abby Turner, who were always available to take on a new task and who ran our news section with grace and tenacity. Your friendship and trust mean so much to me. Thank you Izzy Fantini and Neev Agarwal for always knowing what I meant before I could articulate it. Thank you Isabelle Kravis and Luna Jinks, who do far more work than anyone will ever know and who I can always rely on.
Thank you Sara Winick and the life section for your creativity, Delaney Hoke and the sports section for your dedication and Jelinda Montes and the opinion section for your insight. Thank you Aline Behar Kado and Abigail Hatting for keeping El Águila alive. Thank you Zoe Bell for keeping DEI a priority for us.
Thank you Walker Whalen and Tyler Davis for making me laugh. Thank you Kathryn Squyres for pushing yourself and supporting your writers. Thank you Abigail Hatting for being my go-to. Thank you Sam Skolnick, Clair Sapilewski, Marina Zaczkiewicz and Lydia LoPiccolo for your enthusiasm in representing The Eagle. Thank you Alfie Pritchard for being The Eagle’s first official nepo-baby, and for always giving me something new to watch.
Thank you to everyone who spent a whole weekend in the office with me to create this print edition.
To my roommates and family, thank you for reminding me when it wasn’t that serious, and for always supporting me when it was. Your love and understanding meant more to me than you could ever know.
Thank you Heather Mongilio, Courtney Rozen, and the many other alums and advisors who were there for me when I needed it and who trusted me when I didn’t. Thank you professors John Watson and Amy Eisman for your advice and support — I couldn’t have asked for better mentors. Thank you professor Gregg Ivers for believing in me and for being one of The Eagle’s most valued readers. Thank you Nina Heller for everything.
To the staffers who love The Eagle as much as I do, thank you for trusting me. As your editor and leader, that trust has meant everything.
I know that I leave The Eagle in more than capable hands. Abby Turner has a vision and a passion for The Eagle under which it will thrive. As I take my place on the sidelines, ready to cheer on The Eagle in its 100th year and every year after that, I’m proud of what we’ve done and immeasurably excited for the future journalists who will be part of something so special.
Copy editing done by Luna Jinks.
