Sylvia Goodbye Letter

V Gang,

On a September morning in 2019, a naive freshman danced into Room 103. In a tank top and yellow cotton shorts, she took a seat at an empty desk, daydreaming through the seemingly endless lectures and presentations of overly enthusiastic upperclassmen. Fighting to stay engaged and refrain from side conversation during the meeting, she questioned her decision to come to 103. What’s so special about a school newspaper, anyway? 

Despite my chattiness on the first day, the only truly outgoing aspect of my freshman self was my yellow shorts. I was far too shy to talk to students in other grades out of fear of embarrassment and awkwardness. I remember my first-ever interview — with Filip Przybycien (Class of 2020), a senior at the time — who I met with in the echoey first-floor hallway. I hid my nerves behind a wall of laughter, but by the end of our interview, the fears had vanished. Pushed outside of my comfort zone, my beginnings at Voices put me in situations that shyness had prevented me from exploring prior. And I discovered that my curiosity and appetite for information surpassed my anxiety. 

As months, years, and deadlines passed, I fell in love with the unique camaraderie, collaboration, and creativity of our paper. Through the isolation of the pandemic and the unprecedented struggle to find our footing post-Covid, the Voices team persisted — and oh has it paid off! This year alone shows our success driven by the power of our undying teamwork. We have resumed publishing in print. We have released monthly crosswords, horoscopes, and videos on top of our terrific journalism. We have earned grant money to support the club for years to come. We have designed and sold merch (which I am wearing as I write this letter). We have fought hard against and adapted to unforeseen circumstances and threats to our paper’s autonomy. I am so proud of all that we have achieved this year, and know that this is just the beginning of the post-pandemic Voices Renaissance. 

I am confident that the paper will thrive with rising Editors in Chief Natalia, Gavriela, and Ella — you all epitomize the Voices mindset of collaboration, leadership, and advocacy, and I can’t wait to see Voices shine through your leadership. I am lucky and grateful to have worked with Henry as a co-Editor in Chief, who took so much charge in the process of publishing print copies once again. His drive, devotion, and Canva skills opened the doors to so much success, and I will always admire his strong-willed motivation to revive what we lost due to Covid. 

Voices would not be possible without the endless contributions of our entire team. Thank you to Ms. Rowley for your guidance and support through this eventful year. Thank you to Luiza, my best friend, for always providing skillful edits and support for our writers. Thank you to Brady, our beloved columnist and most prolific contributor, for four years of addictive crossword puzzles and enlightening rants; your persistence is a superpower. Thank you to Noah for revamping our video team with your outlandish creativity and incredible eye for cinematography. Thank you to Salena and Kathy, who have managed our website for the past two years. Thank you to Calder for your charisma and for making “V Gang” a thing. Thank you to all of our seniors for four years of dedication — you have put so much into Voices and it shows. Thank you to everyone who has written an article or spent a Tuesday lunch period in Room 313. Thank you to all of our readers for passing copies of Voices around your advisories, for sneakily playing the crossword during class, for stopping me in the hallway to discuss what you have read and what you hope to read, and most of all, for amplifying the voices of our contributors. I am endlessly grateful to have been part of a student body that values information and journalism.

Never did I think that the club I skeptically joined my freshman year would become my school family, but I am so glad that it did. I am so proud to have been a member of such an incredible group. Thank you for an unforgettable four years. Never stop writing.

Signing off,

Sylvia