Unlike the majority of my classmates, who’ve gone to Liberty for the entirety of their life, this was my first year. Entering a new school during your senior year isn’t ideal by any means. Originally, I dreaded the

thought of being a new student, but to my surprise my first days felt like a blur— a fast paced collection of introductions, matching faces with names and responding to the question that everyone wanted to know: “Why did you move?”

In the midst of the chaos that I found myself in as a new student, I discovered some serenity in my newspaper class. Despite the never- ending deadlines and thousands of words I typed in my first months, the relationships that I made throughout the year made it all worth it. I grew in my love for writing, journalism and newspaper, but beyond that, I had the chance to experience a classroom dynamic unlike any other. I don’t know if it was the monthly classroom parties or hanging out with one another outside of school, but the encouraging and personal energy in newspaper class was unique.

In some ways we struggled, as any publication does, but I quickly noticed that the quality of our relationships significantly contributed to how effective we, as a class, were at functioning and overcoming adversity. Whether it be having an ink shortage mid-year that completely stopped our ability to print the newspaper, or finding captivating stories despite being able to fall into the tempting trap of writing about COVID-19. In simple terms, despite being new, I had the chance to grow along such an amazing group of people and learn things beyond what I expected.

Later in the year, I got to see the results of our efforts as, some might say, we swept the competition at the annual J-Day Conference at Mizzou. Each time that I walked up for an award, I heard the invigorating cheers of my class. Getting to experience the support and witness the accomplishments of my peers was surreal,
yet expected.

I have committed to The University of Missouri-Columbia and am so excited to use the skills I have learned in my amazing Newspaper class in college.