I joined The S&B as a staff writer during the fall of my second year at Grinnell. I was very excited, not only because Rory Gilmore was a part of her student newspaper at Yale, but also because I would be getting paid to write for the first time ever. As an English major and someone who sometimes has bursts of blind confidence, I assumed I would take to it very naturally. I watched the movie, “All the President’s Men.” I studied past S&B articles. And when the time came to write my very first piece, I wrote more carefully than I ever had. After rereading it several times, I submitted it proudly.
A few hours later, my editor, Jandry Perez Garcia `24, messaged me that the required changes were so substantial and all-encompassing that we would have to meet in person to discuss them. Mere comments on a Google doc would not suffice.
Of course, the meeting was not as humiliating as I imagined it would be. Jandry was very kind and all of his feedback was incredibly helpful. In fact, it was not humiliating at all, it was an entry point into what I love most about The S&B.
Working here has given me a space where collaborative writing is the norm. At The S&B there exists the rare dynamic where your peers edit and engage with your work not because they have to, but because they truly want to see it at its best. It is such a wonderful thing to have your writing taken that seriously, and to be expected to reciprocate for other people. I feel lucky to be so familiar with the writing of my peers, to have let their work influence my own.
As a staff writer, I wanted to pitch and write stories about that special Grinnell quality, the things that flavor our daily life here on campus. One of my proudest moments was covering my absolute favorite Grinnell denizens, the crows. My magnum opus at this paper. I ask that you all continue to honor the crows in my absence.
On a more relevant note, I tried to continue celebrating the weird and wonderful things that make us Grinnell in my time as features editor, a role I loved for its capacity to let me do just that. I really like the idea of The S&B as a record of our life here, and I hope to have contributed a little bit of whimsy to it.
As opinions editor, I have had the privilege of working and writing with the rest of Grinnell. I don’t know how else to say this — it has just been such a pleasure to read your writing! Thank you for trusting me. It is inspiring to see you all writing, again not because you have to, but because you have something you need to say. Thank you to everyone who has ever submitted an op-ed, I guarantee I learned something from you.
I have also had the honor of being/writing as/embodying Levelheaded Libra. It’s been such a treat to be required to write something silly every week, and despite what people say, not once did I play favorites. I also want to thank Charlotte Krone `25 for setting an incredible example of how fun and exciting the opinions section could be. I often find myself asking, “What would Charlotte do?”,both in layout and in life.
I want to thank everyone on staff this semester, but that would get boring to read very quickly. Thank you especially to Taylor Nunley `26 and Sarah Evans `26, it has been such a joy to work with you both over the past three years. Your commitment, skill, professionalism and kindness inspire me deeply.
Here’s to us seniors, and here’s to The S&B!
