I can not express in words what an amazing experience I’ve had being a part of the Portola Pilot for its third volume edition. It has truly been an honor to say that I was here when we first launched our newspaper, and it is an even greater honor to now say that I served as co-Editor-in-Chief of Orange County’s Online Best of Show.

Our production team is composed of our school’s finest writers, artists, photographers and designers, and I can’t emphasize how crucial they were in helping me serve the Portola Pilot. To say they have helped me grow is an understatement; they have helped me mature, understand and treasure every single moment of this year before it became a lifelong memory.

As I sign off from the Portola Pilot, I want to thank my co-Editor-in-Chief, Maryam, for making it through the year with me. From giving me hugs every morning during class, to writing superlatives together, it has truly been a blessing to work with her. Of course, nothing would have been possible without our adviser, Ms. Rapp, who has guided me and our entire team in the right direction to help us achieve the best we ever could.

Reflecting back on the year, I realize that it’s not so much the title of “editor-in-chief” that I will miss, but the small things that came with that title – like having writers text me late at night to edit their article, or staying up to fix a story’s deadline so that it would be posted at the right time.

With all of the crazy new things that we’ve tried this year, I’m extremely grateful for each and every staff member this year for pushing through with all the grand ideas we’ve proposed. Even with sometimes less than a month to plan, design, write and edit stories, we’ve embraced the challenges, instead of running away from them.

The good news is, I get to look forward to coming back to this amazing team next year as we grow even further. While this is a goodbye to the 2018-2019 year, it’s also a hello to Portola Pilot’s fourth volume edition. Bring it on!

Working on the Pilot this year has been an unexplainable experience and I am truly honored to have been apart of the production this year. From printing eight issues to posting online daily, I have gained many skills that I will hold onto as I grow as a student, writer and person.

I initially joined the Pilot as I was fascinated by the work of journalists growing up and always wanted to take part in that type of environment. When joining, I came to love the fast work pace throughout the production and the process of writing a story. Being Co-Editor-in-Chief has changed my perspective on how productions are run and how to further improve my leadership skills.

I owe a major thank you to my Co-Editor-in-Chief, Julia Kim, as she has supported the production and myself throughout the process. She has contributed all her time and effort towards improving the Pilot and has left an everlasting impact in the Pilot’s history.

I want to thank every student and writer that has contributed to the production and has helped it become its best. Every writer has improved greatly across the year and each section editor stepped out of their comfort zone with designs in order to improve the overall production.

And of course, I am extremely grateful for all the work our adviser, Ms. Rapp, has put into our production. She has guided us every step of the way, continuously giving us constructive criticism, allowing us to grow. She has given each and every one of us amazing opportunities to grow as leaders and to gain skill sets generally not attained throughout high school.

As I sign off, I look forward to a future year of watching the Pilot grow and I am excited to see what all students bring to the table. Thank you all for a wonderful year!