G106, first class of high school. One long table in the middle of the room and chairs along the side. The infamous freshman year pub room–well, if you were enrolled in journalism. Two scared freshman were ready to learn this world of journalism, from InDesign to Illustrator, using a more-than-confusing book. Little did they know what the next four years would hold.
As freshman year journalism class came to a close, it was time to choose whether we wanted to be on The Dart or The Teresian. While that, seemed like a daunting decision, in the end we both always knew we wanted to be on The Dart and we’ve never looked back.
Nervous to go into sophomore year and be on staff, we participated in a summer Dart Bootcamp. When we heard Bootcamp we said “woah.” What seemed like a terrifying day turned into a perfect start to our next three years on Dart.
Summer ended and our first Dart class began. Similar to freshman year, it was first period, except not in G106. With all the different faces and a new environment, we spotted each other and were grateful to see a familiar face. We sat together with our other sophomore Dartie (Dart staffer) Chloe Denk and our senior mentor Caroline, who provided a lot of insight and direction through our first year on Dart, which we were grateful for.
First cycle of our journalism career we worked together on the Star Spotlight. Isa took up her first assignment and wrote a story about Dr. Clark and took the photo, while Maya started her first page design. We continued to bond over our slight fear of the responsibility it takes to be a staffer. The work, commitment and meeting strict deadlines provided us with a real-world life skills that we continue to take with us today.
November of 2022, we participated in our first National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) in St. Louis. Unsure what to expect, we began our trip to St. Louis. We sat together on the bus ride and neither of us got a wink of sleep. We knew we had arrived when we saw The Arch and we headed over to our hotel. Mrs. Hirner announced the room assignments and we were ecstatic to hear our names paired together. Quickly after, we grabbed our things and ran to the hotel room. We got ready for our dinner at Rigazzis’ Italian Restaurant. It was a great start to our trip and we looked forward to the conference in the next few days.
The next day, the conference began and we were overwhelmed by the amount of students. We made it through the convention hall to find the sessions we would participate in. We selected all the same sessions and were excited to learn diverse journalism skills.
As the trip came to a close, we reflected on our time and realized how much closer this trip allowed us to become. We left grateful for the broadened skill set we acquired. We knew it was an experience we wouldn’t forget.
When we returned, we incorporated what we learned at the conference into our assignments. As our sophomore year concluded, we received our staff positions for the upcoming year, when Maya became Associate Photo Editor and Isa became Associate Sports Editor. We were so excited to take on our new roles on staff!
Fast forward to our junior year (officially upperclassmen!). We adapted to our new roles and found a growing sense of responsibility as we embarked on our second year on staff. We grew more confident in our journalist abilities and learned from our editors, who took us under their wings, and showed us more of what goes into the photo and editing process.
Maya inserted herself in the photo world, taking a total of nine galleries. Isa took on a plethora of assignments from bigger stories to more intricate designs.
First semester we were excited to hear we would be going on another NSPA trip, but this time to a more exciting city: Boston! As we embarked on our journey and made it to Boston, history was repeated as Hirner announced our room assignments and we were roomies again!
We headed to our rooms once again and got all settled in, but little did we know how much more exciting and informational this conference would be compared to St. Louis.
One of the highlights of the trip was definitely the food. The first night we had no dinner plans but that lead us to a delicious discovery. We found ourselves and the 20 other yearbook and Dart staffers in a small, underground sushi restaurant. The food was superb and we would definitely make a return. Over the course of the trip, we had truffle lobster mac and cheese, bagels, Canes, a delicious burger and milkshake and a honorable mention goes to Maya, who tried a green tea crepe cake that was delicious.
Don’t even get us started on the shopping. The first day we were there, we shopped till we dropped, and we were scared to see our bank statements for the month of November (keep in mind that it was only the first of the month). While walking around Boston, we noticed how beautiful it is and fell in love with the city.
When the conference started, we chose our session but this year we also participated in writing and photography workshops. Isa did a sports writing workshop and Maya entered a sports action photography competition. They were really great experiences that got us out of our comfort zones and strengthened our skills.
Once we returned to the publication room, we finished out our junior with three more magnificent issues, with Maya taking on her first cover design and Isa publishing her first photo essay of the Father-Daughter Dance.
As the last issue was coming to a finish and our second year on staff came to a close, Hirner and the EICs were ready to announce the positions for our final year and we were excited to hear Isa was to be the News and Sports Editor and Maya became the Photography Editor.
Senior year came faster than a blink of an eye and we began our third and final year on staff. Our responsibilities and knowledge widened as we continued on our journey through journalism and we were able to teach and help others create an interest in it.
Every day we walked into Dart class we tried to savor the moments, as we knew soon they would come to an end. Every “hi!” at the start of class, every laugh during and every random conversation were about to conclude.
With senior year came the talk of college and the pressure to know where we are headed for the next four years. Isa committed to College of Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts the summer before senior year and to be a part of their volleyball program. Maya went back and forth on multiple colleges and in the end chose Loyola University in Baltimore, Maryland.
When Maya made her decision, she was ecstatic to tell Isa as they would only be a four-hour train ride apart. Isa was even more excited to share that both colleges were in the same conference and she would be traveling to Loyola for volleyball matches. We have already made plans to see each other during the games with Maya cheering on Isa.
As we continue into college, we are prepared to use the skills Hirner and the past four years have taught us and pass them on to the new staffers.
Now here we are, writing our last Dart assignment, reminiscing on our four years together while holding back tears. We have come full circle from working on our first Dart assignment together to our last. The two girls who journeyed through journalism together are ready to take on the Northeast.
