Editor-in-Chief Goodbye Letter

Dear Voices,

It is a tradition for senior editors to write farewell letters to be published in our final Voices issue before they leave high school. As we come to terms with the fact that our graduation is only days away, it has dawned on us that it may be impossible to discuss every facet of our time in Voices. There’s been so much. But in this little message we’ll try to get to the most prominent moments from our reflection.

Through one way or another, you’ve found this letter and are now reading it on the Voices website. We do hope you have perused the other stories in this 2022 end-of-the-year special, since we’re very proud of it. But if you have ever read Voices this year, no matter how minimal your engagement has been, thank you. Our readers are both our inspiration and our motivation. Whether you have clicked on a link out of curiosity or actively searched for a particular piece, we hope you learned something, either about our authors or the subjects we cover.

Our publication has certainly taken on a variety of forms throughout our years here. As our community adapted to online school, and then back to in-person learning, we’ve noticed a gradual decline in general extracurricular engagement throughout the school. Even so, Voices has managed to consistently publish complete issues monthly. Through every sort of unpredictable change, we are proud of our writers and team for staying loyal to their passions in writing and journalism. It always makes our day when we are approached in the halls by a bright-eyed student who wants to have a story heard.

Of course, this farewell letter wouldn’t be complete without a thorough acknowledgement of everyone we’ve worked with throughout our years in Voices. Ms. Gentlesk, the longtime sponsor of the paper, was the first person to welcome us to the team in 2018. Since then, she has instilled within us the value of uncomfortable discourse through conversations on censorship, journalistic responsibilities, and pressing current events. From her, we learned that journalism is a collaborative effort. Behind every polished story is a frantic brainstorming session, an eager email to an interviewee, a lunch period spent in front of a disjointed Google Doc, and a string of seemingly endless edits– all done as a team. Ms. Gentlesk stepped away from her role in Voices this year, but stayed in close contact. She checked in regularly with the team, always ready to share ideas regarding articles and opportunities for students. Thank you for all you have taught us.

To Ms. Marranzini, our sponsor for the 2021-22 school year: thank you for stepping up and guiding us with your patience and insight. You have put faith in the team to make decisions together while encouraging us with kind, motivational words. We hope you enjoy your sabbatical next year and that you can take some time for yourself.

It has been an honor to work alongside Annetta and Le-qi this year as our senior section editors with their thorough and detailed feedback. To Henry and Sylvia: we are confident you will be fantastic leaders next year. Your level of dedication is astounding. And to the rest of the incoming team, good luck. Please be nice to one another. We are glad to know Voices will be left in safe hands. Shoutout to everyone for contributing, whether it's through video-making, picture-taking, drawing comics, or writing articles. We thank you for the countless memories we have made over the past four years, with all our Voices members.

With gratitude,

Isabel and Helena