Student Spotlight: Gabby Pilat and Isabella Teter

In 2023, the concept of reinstating our defunct school newspaper began as just an idea. This was until some courageous students, aided by Mrs. Lee, were able to get this paper up and running. They renamed, redesigned, and set the foundation for everything that the Blue Devil Beat school newspaper is today and what it has the potential to become in the future. The very first senior editor was Gigi Blumberg, who graduated in 2024, and her devoted partner, Gabby Pilat, moved up to the role of senior editor for the paper this year. None of it would exist, though, without their chief website editor, Isabella “Tater” Teter. Tater originated this position last year and initially managed the entire website on her own. However, at the beginning of this year, she trained a small team of website editors, which I am so lucky to be on. Gabby did the same with training a group of article editors, and those groups have made up the newspaper student staff that keeps the newspaper running strong right now!

I want to start off with spotlighting Gabby and everything she has done for me and making this paper what it is today. Her clear enthusiasm and passion for this club, and her constant patience for all of us learning the ropes of its intricacy, were key to our success each edition. Gabby started every meeting with her wide smile and pure excitement for each new month.  She was also so uplifting and inspiring when it came to handing over this incredible thing that she helped create, down to the younger classes for us to continue into the future. Her full faith in us is so motivating, and I am so grateful for everything she has done for me.

Next, Tater, who taught me just about everything I know. She has also been so patient in teaching me not only the ins and outs of the newspaper website but so many other things as well. She, too, is very inspiring and one of my biggest role models. The way she fully commits and goes above and beyond in everything she does encourages me to be a better person without her even knowing it. These motivating qualities definitely shine through the paper, too, since our website team gets genuinely excited to work together to finish the site for each new edition, thanks to Tater’s enthusiasm and desire for us to do the best that we can with what she has taught us. I think I can speak for the rest of our team as well when I say I’m confident we will be able to continue making the website better and better next year by using the great platform that she has created for us and her exceptional teaching skills. And of course, her faith in us is so reassuring, even though it can’t be easy to pass along everything that she has started. 

Although both girls are seniors this year, and I am personally so upset to see them leave behind the club that they worked so hard to start, I am so proud of them for the legacy that they are leaving, seeing how successful their newspaper has been just over the last two years. Additionally, I am proud of the dozens of underclassmen whom they have trained to help carry on this club, and I am so grateful to be part of that group. I am also so thankful for Gabby and Tater for countless reasons beyond the Blue Devil Beat, and getting to call them my friends is one of the greatest privileges. I don’t know who I would be now without them, and I can’t wait to see what they will do in the future. Regardless of where their paths lead, I have no doubt that they will continue to educate, entertain, and inspire.