At the end of every semester, graduating Eagle seniors are invited to reflect on their time at The Eagle. Staff from every section get the chance to write their last byline (and for some, their first) and reflect on their time at The Eagle, as well as get a chance to thank those who have had an impact on their time here.
Read below for reflections from those graduating in Dec. 2022:
Lee Clarke, Sports Managing Editor
My past four years here at American University have been filled with highs and lows, like many, the COVID-19 pandemic changed the entirety of my college experience, but through it all, I was thankful to have one constant, The Eagle. I was lucky enough to be introduced to The Eagle by former Sports Managing Editor Spencer Nusbaum, during my sophomore year. Without Spencer, I likely never would have joined the paper and had the opportunity to cover the sports I love.
In my time here, I have met so many wonderful people like Spencer that have played such an influential role in my writing and experience, I could make a massive list to thank them all but I, sadly, do not have the space for that in this column. I’d like to, however, thank a few special individuals who have been especially significant in my time at The Eagle. Marco Gacina and Liah Argiropoulos have been some of the best section editors I could work with; both made my life as a managing editor easier thanks to their amazing editing work and leadership. I’d like to also thank our editor-in-chief and fearless leader, Nina Heller, for giving me the chance to be a managing editor when others may not have. Finally, I’d like to shout out the next sports managing editor, Delaney Hoke. She has done a fantastic job in her time here and I cannot wait to see what she does with the section going forward. I hope that you all enjoyed and continue to enjoy reading everything the sports team and The Eagle as a whole has put out as much as I enjoyed writing and editing it. I wouldn’t be who I am today without my time here, so from the bottom of my heart thank you all.
Eliza Schloss, Online Managing Editor
The one thing I knew when stepping foot on campus in August 2019 was that I needed to join the student paper. I found a second home in my high school newspaper, The Oracle, and felt the necessity to find that community in college. Just over three years later, I am so grateful I did.
I began my Eagle journey in the News section covering campus and local news. I even got to report on the grand opening of Target in Tenleytown. I remember my excitement at a private tour through the aisles and confetti explosions at the ribbon cutting. My work grew tremendously under supportive leaders who not only helped fine-tune my writing abilities but made themselves available to answer any questions you might expect from a newly arrived freshman.
During my all-virtual sophomore year, I made the switch to the Online team writing captions and creating graphics for Instagram. Any avid Eagle Instagram follower would remember our coronavirus graphs tracking positive COVID-19 cases across the AU community. I’m glad to say those were of my making.
Last year, I became the Managing Editor of Online. I am so proud of what our team has accomplished: honing in on a visual identity, showcasing the amazing work of our photographers and videographers and carrying the voices in our articles beyond the page. I believe deeply in the role that our team serves to bridge content to our audience, and I’m so glad I got to do this for AU.
Thank you to my early journalism teachers, Mr. Harris and Mr. Wysocki, for the AP Style quizzes and pointed conversations about the role of journalism in democracy, especially amid the political climate of 2016. Thank you to my forever Oracle friends, Yoon, Josie and Gigi, for your entertainment and support.
To my Online team, thank you for enduring daily text spams as we piece together the day’s schedule. Your care for the work and go-with-the-flow attitude made the job enjoyable, even in the most hectic, news-ridden times.
Thank you to the incredible sources – inside and outside of the AU community – who shared their stories with me over the past years. I hope to have shed light on your passions, concerns and talents. I learned a lot along the way talking with you all.
And finally, thank you, Nina Heller. My first Eagle friend, I spotted you as a fearless leader and talented journalist in our very first newspaper interest meeting in the fall of our freshman year. You are often the last person I text at night and the first I message in the morning. I’ll miss my phone’s buzz at your alert of the day’s to-do list.
