[quote]By Zainie Qureshi
Managing Editor
Graphic by Zainie Qureshi[/quote]

How do you think newspaper has helped prepare you for life beyond high school?

Stephanie Sorich: It teaches you to work with groups big and small, whether youre working with the full staff or the editorial board or even just your own department. It teaches you to make deadlines and it helps your creativity, which is an overall great life skill to have. Going through life you want to always be able to see different perspectives.

Ashvini Kartik-Narayan: As far as dealing with deadlines and putting in hard work it’s obviously taught me a lot. It’s also taught me a lot about being accountable, I think that’s a really big part of newspaper. Also, I think for me, what I’ve gotten out of newspaper is not so much preparation,and more so appreciation. It’s taught me to appreciate the amount of power we have as writers and communicators, and the power that we have to create something that represents and unites the school.

Nurah Lambert: Newspaper has taught me in more ways than I probably know, it’s taught me how to handle tough situations, especially as far as communication goes. It’s taught me how to work in a team, focus, and honestly, it’s taught me more than what I can put into words, I love newspaper and I’ll be sad to not be a part of The Stampede anymore.

Nirmal Mulaikal: Newspaper has not only taught me how to improve my writing skills but become a better person. I never thought that I could take a class and not only just learn how to write, but actually prepare me wholistically as to what it means to be a good person outside of this school.

How has newspaper affected your high school experience?

Drew Danko: I loved it. Newspaper made me feel like I was apart of something during high school. It made me feel like I was serving a greater purpose. Our goal is to tell the stories of our classmates and I felt like I did that. It helped me meet people who I wouldn’t have otherwise met through interviews.  

Ashley Walker: Newspaper has helped me a lot in not only the english department but also in all of my other classes. It taught me how to deal with adversity and how to write from the heart and instead of writing for school only purposes, I get to write about things that I love and that makes me really passionate about doing the things I do.

Nikki Roberts: Newspaper was one of the first classes that was actually influential in the field that I would actually like to go into. I’m going into journalism and minoring in english next year, so it’s a taste of what my future could be like.

Lucas Rhamy: It made it a heck of a lot more fun. It taught me not only how to be more opinionated and express my opinions to bigger crowds but also to not be so afraid of about what other people are going to say. It’s always nice to see your name in the paper, but also getting to get to know the people involved was a blast.

Alex Bosworth: I’ve met a bunch of cool new people, and it’s also given me a place to write, which is really cool because it’s not the type of writing that you do in english class so you get to learn a lot. I found something that I really like in journalism and I’m ending up minoring in it now.

Stephanie Sorich: Coming to Newspaper at the end of the day is the best ending to my day, whether it’s been a good day or a bad day. It’s always fun to talk to Mr. Page and talk to the staff members and focus on something that I really care about with people that I really care about.

What are you going to miss about Metea Valley?

Kiera Donovan: I’m really going to miss the stuff I was involved in like Newspaper, and lacrosse, and definitely my friends. You may not be friends with everyone, but the friends that you do make are really important.

Qiyuan Zhou: I’m really going to miss Nirmal.

Nirmal Mulaikal: The people, the people, the people. I’m really going to miss the teachers I’ve had, I’m going to miss Qiyuan, and I’m just going to miss being a kid.

Alicia Diaz: I’m really going to miss all of my friends, my experiences in high school have really shaped who I am. All the teachers I’ve had, whether I got along with them or not have taken helped me in some shape or form, and I’m really thankful for that.

What are you looking forward to in college?

Turner Smith: I’m really just going to be excited about doing something new and being able to be pursue something specifically that I’m passionate about. High school’s very like, you must explore all these things, and you may care about it and you may not but you’re going to learn the foundation for all of these subjects and I’m excited that college will give me the opportunity to specialize in my learning and pursue something that I really do care about.

Nurah Lambert: I’m definitely looking forward to the independence that comes with going to college. And also being able to pursue extracurricular interests as well as academic interests that align with what I’m actually aspiring towards.

Ashvini Kartik-Narayan: Sharing memories with people I don’t know yet.

Qiyuan Zhou: I’m really looking forward to everything that comes with the territory, the freedom, meeting new people, being in a new environment.