June 9, 2026
Midnights at the kitchen table, proofreading articles; car rides to school, studying professional newspaper layouts; jotting down ideas as I eavesdrop on classmates’ conversations. Reflecting on the whirlwind of the past four years, I wouldn’t trade The Lighthouse’s place in my daily routines for anything.
While I always adored writing, the journalism elective swept me out of my comfort zone as I pieced together a puzzle of words and graphics. I fell in love with the meticulous work behind the curtain.
I reported as a freshman and, the following year, assisted my classmates as an editor. This prepared me to serve as editor-in-chief for two years. Although I had far more responsibility, seeing the staff’s hard work — hundreds of hours dedicated to truth-seeking — in print was so rewarding.
I also ventured beyond LHS by attending the New Voices Student Leaders Institute in July 2024, which deepened my understanding of advocacy and student press freedom.
In June 2025, I was selected for the Garden State Scholastic Press Association’s inaugural New Jersey All-Star School Journalism Team for informing my community and making significant contributions to The Lighthouse and other publications.
In March, I achieved my biggest accomplishment yet: being named New Jersey High School Journalist of the Year. Being honored at the GSSPA’s Annual Spring Advisers Conference at Rutgers University-New Brunswick and the annual Spring Awards Celebration for the New Jersey Press Association in Monroe Township filled me with pride.
Although I had far more responsibility, seeing the staff’s hard work — hundreds of hours dedicated to truth-seeking — in print was so rewarding.
Thank you to my best friends and fellow executive board members, seniors Mariah Allen, Isabella Bartlett and Debra Ogunbowale, for making me laugh in journalism class and keeping me grounded in life.
Furthermore, I thank my co-editor-in-chief and best friend, senior Alexandra Lourenço, who stood by me throughout high school. We’ve been each other’s rocks, and I can’t imagine being “editors-in-crime” with anyone else.
Lastly, thank you to The Lighthouse adviser Ms. Pastor for believing in me and never letting me settle for just OK. Whether meeting in Room 234 or holed up in a computer lab, her support guided me toward a future in journalism.
This fall, I will further my education as a public policy studies major with a minor in journalism and media at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. I also can’t wait to write for its daily student newspaper, The Duke Chronicle.
There are challenges associated with a career in journalism, but I find hope in Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Jodi Kantor’s address at the 2025 Columbia College Class Day: “Not a day has passed when my field has not been in existential and business crisis, and I’m happy.”
This resonates with me, as The Lighthouse has always kept me on my toes.
Journalists are necessary because we embrace the world’s chaos to inform the public and spark change. Let this wisdom guide future generations of The Lighthouse staff, just as it has guided me.
