Wesley Rollein’ Out

It’s September 1, 2016. It’s the third day of school, a Thursday, and the students of Big Sky barely hang on while they wait for the first early dismissal of the school year. They just have to make to 2:00pm.
One more period, I think to myself.
Dragging my feet, I make my way down the busy main hall to my 8th period class. It’s the first Gold Day on the calendar and I’ve already switched my courses, using my one and only chance to speak to my counselor, Heather, about schedule changes. I’m praying this is a decision I won’t regret. I originally signed up for Intro to Business but I decided that it wasn’t a good fit. Heather gave me the list of my limited choices for alternative subjects: Woods, Culinary 2, Ukulele, Ceramics.
I never took Culinary 1 and I have cerebral palsy, so that pretty much eliminates all the other choices. Perfect.
“Is there anything else?” I ask, trying my quasi-best to hide my annoyance from the tone of my voice.
Once again, Heather scrolls through the list.“Journalism.”
So here I am, walking into journalism. I have no idea what to expect and the expectations I do have are low.
As class starts, we all introduce ourselves and give a few, completely dull fun facts about our lives. The teacher, Ms. Stamler (now Mrs. Cook), then asks to tell the class why we chose Journalism. I think I lied.
Upon her request, I begrudgingly pull out a notebook and a pencil and begin taking notes on a presentation. We are learning about the eight news values of journalism — whatever those are.
I look around and see the tired, expressionless faces of my classmates and I know their feelings of indifference for the subject are probably somewhat mirrored to mine. Only one of us has ever taken a journalism course before and the rest of us know nothing.
Fast forward to today and we’re a multi-award-winning staff, and I, at the helm, am the Editor-in-chief of the Big Sky Sun Journal.
And oh my gosh, has this experience been a whirlwind!
As my time on staff is quickly, amazingly, and disappointingly coming to an end, I feel it’s only appropriate for me to reflect on the journey this program turned out to be.
Firstly, I would like to thank the Big Sky community. Thank you for being an excited, eager, and curious audience. Publishing our work and handing it out to over a thousand people was at first, a daunting task for us in the Sun Journal. However, your response and encouragement has put us at ease and kept us wanting to give you more and more. Thank you.
Secondly, I would like to thank my staff. Thank you for all that you are and all you do. Your commitment, hard work, and your unparalleled respect and loyalty has been about as much as an editor can ask for. I know that it hasn’t always been filled with rainbows and unicorns but I challenge you to ignore all the good we’ve created together and I promise you, you won’t be able to. Through thick and thin, difficult and easy, you’ve been a supporting group of journalists, peers, and friends and I wish you luck in all your future endeavours in the world of reporting and beyond; Thank you.
And thirdly, I would like to thank my Adviser, Mrs. Jessica Cook. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I know with 100% certainty that I could not have made it through this year or this experience without your pure, unwavering support. Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for trusting me and putting your faith in my abilities to lead this team to success and great achievement. Thank you for constantly pushing me, never allowing me to settle for anything less than my best and being the voice that tells me to do more, want more, be more, and reach for my absolute potential. You are a guiding light. I am humbled and extremely blessed to have been given the chance to have had you as a teacher and as a role-model these past two years. Thank you.
Thank you, farewell, and go Eagles!