By Draven Copeland, Editor-in-Chief
Finishing my first semester as an Editor-in-Chief of an official journal was not something I ever imagined I’d be doing. While I’ve always had a passion for writing and always thought fictional editors like Perry White (Clark Kent’s editor) and J. Jonah Jameson (the guy that’s always yelling for pictures of Spider-Man) were cool, I thought this position was something that I couldn’t handle. I guess I’ve proven myself wrong.
From the very small beginnings of this revival of Imaginary Gardens (literally comprised of two staff members for multiple weeks), to the 17-strong staff of talented students we finished the semester with, this endeavor has been the most exciting, interesting, and developmental experience of my life. Seeing all of the varying perspectives of my fellow students and co-workers has been eye-opening, and being a vehicle for their voices to be heard has been incredibly fulfilling in ways I couldn’t even begin to explain.
While many of us will be returning next semester to bring our dear readers more of our signature stories, we are giving a heartfelt farewell to a few of our amazing staff members as they move onward toward their education and careers.
Sophie Perrins, our first ever Photo Editor, is moving to Costa Rica this summer to continue her focus on photojournalism that she excelled in with our journal. From her beautiful piece on the Hands Off protests to her work behind the scenes coordinating and editing photos for our stories every single week, Sophie has been a moving force on our photography team throughout the semester. I know she’ll be doing great things with her skills, so be on the lookout for her work in the future!
Rocket Belden, our second longest-running staff member, is off to Ithaca College in the spring to begin his studies in Marine Biology. While his incredible stories (like his piece on ICE we published a few weeks ago) are certainly the highlight of his work for our readers, Rocket has helped tremendously from even before our first issue, assisting with editing, writing, and conducting interviews with students for stories. While it’s hard to lose a long-time member and his efforts will be missed, it’s amazing to see Rocket continue to grow as a writer and a person.
Charlie Dobyns, our first Science Writer with the journal, is going to the University of Tennessee to study Biology, with concentration on Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, after a summer semester with Pellissippi State Community College. Her passionate work in creating science writing that is accessible to all has been a great addition to the personality of the journal and has been proof that such writing can thrive outside of the scientific sphere. While her time with us has been relatively short, her work will be a template for our science writing moving forward.
Hayden Ashby, our Sports Editor, is heading to Brigham Young University to study Biology after serving a mission in Paraguay this summer. While he had large shoes to fill after Alex Gillenwalters did great work in the role covering the Panthers’ basketball season, Hayden stepped up and covered Pellissippi State’s baseball season with the same passion and quality, finishing with fantastic coverage of the intramural basketball championship held by the SRC. Don’t miss out on his review of Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess either; his work with us has been absolutely stellar outside of the sports realm as well.
While those that are leaving get special appreciation, I do want to shout out our other staff members for their amazing work throughout the semester. Managing Editor Anna Trevathan has done amazing work maintaining our social media accounts while writing, editing, even getting married! Her tireless work both in our weekly stories and behind the scenes will continue to be greatly appreciated next semester. Editors Patrick Dobyns and Lelyi Izadpanah have also done amazing work with their unique voices this semester, keeping up their great writing while assisting with editing whenever needed.
Assistant Photo Editor Kaleb Guzman, the longest-running member of our photography team, has helped not only with coordination and editing of photos, but has dutifully served as our unofficial “tech guy,” helping with backend website upkeep and assisting with any technical issues we have in the newsroom. Photographers James Cochran and William Dishmon have played integral roles with their amazing photography, giving the journal top-level work that contributes to our stories perfectly.
Writers Emma Grace Harrison, Hollyn Rummel, and Lee Chaney have all done amazing work providing their voices and stories to the journal, continuing to uphold our high standards for writing and creativity. A special shout out to Emma, who has written our weekly emails for us and helped with our outreach while winning awards with her rowing team and working as a legal assistant. Another few shouts to Lee, who has assisted with our graphic design and coloring, and Hollyn, who has brought smiles and participation to the newsroom since she recently joined.
Who could forget our Cartoonist Evie Hawkins, who has written, designed, and drawn our comic strips this semester! She has brought laughs and creative fun not only to the newsroom but to our readers from her first piece to the last, and I’m always excited to see what she comes up with next!
Last, but certainly not least, a HUGE thank you to our Faculty Mentor Heather Schroeder, who has not only helped assist where needed every single week, but recruited me out of college retirement to revive the journal and uphold student voices. Since her inception of this project, she has fought hard for us to do what we do, never backing down and coming into the newsroom every week with a smile. I look forward to another semester with her as our guide, and appreciate everything she has done for me, the journal, her students, and all of us working to make this happen. Thank you, Schroeder.
And thank you to our readers and story submitters throughout this semester; without you all, we’d be talking to a wall. We hope you all have gotten something out of every week’s edition, and we will continue to work hard to do so moving forward. Also, I hear that we have readers in Canada, which is so fucking cool, shout out to you all too.
We hope you join us in welcoming new members John Medina and Mary Arsenault next semester, and we look forward to giving back to you all once again.
Thank you,
Draven Copeland
