A Formal Goodbye from the Editor-in-Chief!
By Gabby Ceconi ('22)
As the school year finally draws to a close, every senior around the country begins a mental reflection process of their four years, assessing how much they have grown. Amongst those seniors is myself, no different than the millions of other young adults ready to fly from the nest. In my off time, I have reflected on my tenure as the Senior Editor-in-Chief of The Rambling Raider, the honor of which I am so grateful for having.
I would first like to thank both Mr. Ludwig and Mr. Schneider for allowing me to have the opportunity to lead a club as wonderful as this. If it weren’t for Mr. Schneider’s constant encouragement and Mr. Ludwig’s enthusiasm and support, I would have never joined the newspaper in the first place. Coming into the club as a naive and timid sophomore, I had no idea what to expect, or what I was doing, but I very quickly caught on to the concept of writing in a journalistic style. As the years progressed, I very quickly found (with the help of Ludwig and Schneider) that I enjoyed writing all about food (a pleasure of mine), as well as music and entertainment.
At the end of my sophomore year, I was granted the position of Junior Editor-in-Chief, working with Harrison Gerson (‘21), who was such a wonderful mentor. The year went by so quickly, and before I knew it, I was the one in charge, ready to lead the club into a fresh new year. The rush of feelings was horrendous! I was extremely scared and intimidated, as I now held the success of the newspaper on my shoulders, but with Mr. Ludwig’s great support and reassurance, I was able to carry on.
Part of being the Senior Editor-in-Chief was also mentoring those below me, just as my predecessor did. Throughout the year, I have tremendously enjoyed working with both Christina Muttavanchery and Kevin Cahill, and watching them blossom into seniors has been very sentimental to watch. Their immense work ethic and drive for this paper has been one that has inspired me to continue with the same energy. The same goes for the other three wonderful editors we have on our team, Kelly Barros, Valentina Omotosho .O., and Olivia LoPresti, who have exhibited great interest and care for the paper.
One of the hardest pills to swallow as a leader, however, are your drawbacks and mistakes. All leaders (and humans) make mistakes, but when you are in charge, they are amplified. The most difficult aspect of being a leader this year was definitely organization. Finding the time to plan, work efficiently, and be on schedule was definitely not easy, especially during senior year, where I was also President of Writers Club. However, my team always manages to amaze me, and they very quickly showed me that no matter the setbacks, we would always continue to work hard and support each other.
I would like to thank Dr. Gill for always supporting our paper and our efforts to spread news with this wonderful community. Thank you all so much for your constant support and love for The Rambling Raider and our team. I am truly grateful that I had this opportunity, and I will definitely never forget it. I hope that everyone has a great graduation and summer vacation, and please always remember your roots. If it weren’t for those at North Rockland, we wouldn’t be shaped into who we are today. Thank you, North Rockland, and thank you for this wonderful position.
Cover photo courtesy of Gabby Ceconi.