Sending Off Our Seniors

Katie Leigh has taken New Media Communications for 2 years, and was the Senior Managing Editor this year. She will be attending Tulane University next fall. “New Media has become my favorite class and I’m going to miss it so much next year. I love how close everyone in the class is with each other and with Ms. Valenza. I am most proud of the article that I wrote with Jordana about the March 14th walkout. We spent all day writing that article, which ended up on the cover of the Syosset-Jericho Tribune. My advice for future students is to take and continue with New Media because it will make you a better and more confident writer and teach you communication skills that no other class is able to. My favorite piece was ‘Uncovering Above,’ the video report I did about our school’s attic. It was a unique experience going up to the attic and discovering a piece of the school that few people know about. Because of New Media, I have become a more confident person. Ever since my first interview, it has become easier for me to communicate with people, whether it is for the JerEcho or not. I’m going to miss how close our class is because we really have become like a family,” she said.

Our Editor-in-chief Maria Grafas has been in New Media for all four years of high school, and will be attending Husson University in the fall. “I love the sense of community I feel in this class. That is what I am most proud of. Our ability to collaborate and create something together is wonderful. I am grateful to have been a part of this class and this paper. I am going to miss the open setting and my teacher of four years, Ms. Valenza. My favorite piece I have written was my op-ed, ‘The Perfect Body.’ I enjoyed being able to write about an issue that affects so many people and to do so factually. I’ll be studying exercise science next year on track for physical therapy, and am hopefully taking a minor in English,” she said.

Irene Jiang has been in the New Media elective for 2 years. “I am really proud of the awards that this class has gotten, as well as the award I received. I think this class is really relaxing, and I enjoyed writing and reading other people’s news. My favorite pieces I wrote were the satire piece called ‘New Senior Electives Offered,’ as well as my first published article called ‘Fly Fishing Reeling in Students.’ I learned how to write news articles, and to write news without a bias. The thing I will miss most about this elective is Ms. Valenza because she is nice, and helped me a lot with my English this year,” she said.

First year New Media student Hadassah Babalola will be attending the University at Albany in the fall. “I am most proud of the experience I’ve gained in this class. The more interviews I conduct, the more I feel like the confident reporter that this class has helped me to become. I hope to become a criminal defense attorney to help defend those who have been wrongly accused of crimes, and protect the liberties given to them by the Constitution. I believe that this class separates itself from all of my other classes because of the freedom to go out and get interviews and create videos outside of class; not limiting our potential as journalists by staying inside of the classroom. We are doing things that today’s journalists are doing by going out into the world to get the story and therefore being prepared for journalism in the future.” Her advice for students would be to “always be ahead of your work in this class or else it will catch up to you, and honestly just have fun with what whatever project you’re working on,” she said.

Celeste Traub is a first year New Media student who will be attending Rice University in the fall. “I’m most proud of publishing my first article and video, because I have never written anything for a newspaper before. I really enjoyed this class, especially because it pushed me beyond my normal boundaries. I was able to work on approaching and interviewing people who I don’t know, and I think the skills I gained will help me in college and beyond. My advice to future students is to avoid procrastinating as much as possible. It’s really important to take all of the steps to produce your piece in a timely fashion.” She added, “I’m really going to miss the collaborative environment of this class. Everyone supports each other in writing their pieces which is really great!”