With finals season upon us and many of us feeling too busy to focus on anything else, we, The Eagle’s staff, would like to take a moment to thank our graduating seniors, who will be dearly missed.
This fall, The Eagle says goodbye to star members of our News, Opinion, Online and Life sections, all of whom have made invaluable contributions to The Eagle in their time here. These graduating seniors helped shape The Eagle into what it is today, and we are so grateful for everything they did for us.
Sarah, Isabella, Alexis, Anna and Trish will all go on to do great things, and their Eagle family will always be here supporting them.
Congratulations to our graduating seniors. We invite you to read some of their reflections on their time at The Eagle below.
Alexis Bernstein, Managing Editor for Opinion, Bachelor of Arts in Communication, Legal Institutions, Economics, and Government (CLEG)
I am extremely grateful for my three years in the Opinion section of The Eagle. When I started as an opinion columnist, led by the incredible Riya Kohli, we were still remote from the coronavirus pandemic. Not realizing Ed-Board was optional for columnists, I attended every single one and volunteered to take notes for Riya when she was absent. When Riya graduated, I decided to apply for assistant opinion editor, ready to take on a larger role. I am incredibly thankful to have been the assistant for the next managing editor, Kayla Kelly. Kayla taught me so much about copy editing, maintaining author voice and juggling tasks.
Taking over from Kayla was terrifying. The support of the Opinion team, Assistant Opinion Editor Jelinda Montes, past Satire Editor Nora Sullivan and current Satire Editor India Siecke quickly quelled my fears, however. The entire section helped me improve as a leader, and I am so proud of all we have accomplished over the past year. From reviving the Identities column to creating Ask Anna to hiring our new Satire cartoonist, the section has grown substantially. After a year as ME, I have seen firsthand how much the Opinion and Satire columnists have grown as writers. Thank you to the entire section for making my job incredibly simple. I’d also like to thank Isabelle Kravis, Nina Heller and Abigail Pritchard. When I became ME, I would carefully watch how you all edited articles and responded to conflicts. Your amazing examples are how I modeled my own.
I feel closer than ever to The Eagle this semester, and I am sad to be leaving. The Opinion section is critically important in amplifying the voices of students, something I will greatly miss supporting. I am so proud of you all. Stay in touch!
Sarah Flakus, Assistant Online Editor, Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations & Strategic Communication
I remember applying for The Eagle on a whim at the end of my second semester at AU. I wanted to get more involved on campus and to be completely honest, I wasn’t sure whether or not I would like it. I just thought that I would try it out for a semester and see how it went. Turns out, I absolutely loved it and have been so happy to spend the remainder of my semesters within The Eagle community. Having been both a staff writer and a member of the Online team, I can fully attest to the fact that The Eagle is an incredibly special organization to be a part of, in any capacity possible. Being on the Online team for the past three semesters, I have had the pleasure to read a large majority of all the stories published which has been the highlight of my Eagle experience. From laughing too hard in class while reading Satire pieces to keeping up with ongoing campus investigations about faulty COVID-19 masks, I have been able to read a vast array of high-quality journalism which is a true testament to the hard work of our staff members. I would just like to say a huge blanket thank you to anyone and everyone I have worked with at The Eagle. You all have been so supportive and kind and have made my experience very memorable. Good luck to everyone in the future and I am so excited to read Eagle articles for years to come!
Anna Gephart, Opinion Columnist, Bachelor of Arts in Political Science
When I applied to The Eagle my sophomore year, I remember thinking, “I’m not sure if I will be able to handle being an opinion columnist, I mean, what if I run out of opinions?” What I found is that, one, I will probably never run out of opinions, and two, being an opinion columnist means that you have a whole team ready to help you develop your opinion or even challenge it to make it better. I’ve come to learn that the Opinion section is a special place where we get to voice our opinions, not just to have an opinion, but to reach the entire student body to demand change and let them know that they are not alone.
Alexis Berstein has always edited my articles in some way or another. When I started, she was the assistant opinion editor, and as I end, she is not only my managing editor, but also the one who let me try a new thing: an advice column. She always finds a way to make every edit with kindness, leaving me encouraging notes at the end of my articles and pushing me to make my articles even better. When I wrote my first advice piece this semester I was so nervous that my advice would be bad, but she met it with such support and encouragement. I am so excited to see what she does next and I’m so grateful that we overlapped on The Eagle at the same time.
On that note, I am so appreciative of the little community of opinionated people that we have created throughout the years. I want to shout out the Opinion people of this semester who made my last one the best one. Thank you Alice, Alana, Meliha, Rebeca, Allie, Liah, Emily, Sophia, Julia and our amazing assistant editor Jelinda. You guys are all so supportive and made me a better writer.
The Opinion section is a special section that produces incredibly insightful work on campus and in the community at large, and I’m so glad I was able to be a part of it.
Patricia McGee, Managing Editor for Life, Bachelor of Arts in Journalism with a minor in Sustainability.
At the encouragement of friends, I joined The Eagle. At the encouragement of friends, I found a family. During my four semesters on The Eagle, I have been surrounded by endless love and mutual admiration. The Eagle is an incredible family of people who do nothing but support each other; I’m thankful.
Zoë Bell, one of my first friends on campus, is the reason I applied for The Eagle — thank you for your gentle persistence. I’m here today because of you. Clare Mulroy, former editor-in-chief, and Gabe Ferris, former advisory board member (and more), have done nothing but build me up during their time on the paper and beyond. You have become the best role models I could have ever asked for.
I would be remiss without thanking the wonderful friends I am leaving behind. Abigail Pritchard, editor-in-chief, for her endless wisdom and impromptu meetings on the street (and late-night phone calls). Izzy Fantini, managing editor for multimedia, your wit and fire for the paper are some of the reasons why we’re the best in the country (dare I say, world?).
My section editors, Bailey Hobbs, Maria Tedesco, Soumya Sahay, and Sara Winick — without you, I could not stand. Thank you for your patience and dedication to the section and to me. Marina Zaczkiewicz, who has a passion and light for The Eagle that remains unmatched — you’re destined for greatness.
To my darling Life section. You are more than wonderful. You’ve taught me love, gentleness, and patience (ha!). You’ve given me opportunities and experiences that have formed the joys and memories of my undergraduate experience. To The Eagle, past and present: “I became a journalist to come as close as possible to the heart of the world” (Henry Luce, Time), thank you for showing me that heart.
