Dear The Wrangler,

Three years ago, one of my best friends, Karina Shah (12), told me about the school newspaper. I didn’t think much of it, but I decided to join anyway. Now, about a week until graduation, I look back on the last four years and have one thing to say: thank you.

Sophomore Year:

The first time I wrote an article for The Wrangler was rough. I was extremely awkward, to say the least. I wasn’t confident in my writing either. Most of my articles were under “Opinions” because I never followed the news, I wasn’t keeping up with school events, I didn’t really care about sports, and writing movie reviews wasn’t and still isn’t my favorite. But, as I talked to my editor and started building more connections with people on campus by asking them for quotes, I build up the courage to branch out more and start looking into things that I used to completely walk past.

Junior Year:

I decided to expand my role in The Wrangler by being an editor. I was never one to take any leadership positions, so it was fair to say that I was nervous. Also, we can’t forget that school was entirely online due to COVID-19. Despite my doubts, The Wrangler carried on with our weekly articles and actually increased our viewership. I also had the opportunity to run The Wrangler’s Instagram account, posting article shoutouts, podcast updates, and school events. While operating through Zoom was not exactly favorable, I was able to improve my leadership skills, help others improve their writing, and work on social media while writing articles every week.

Senior Year:

One of the biggest endeavors of my high school career was serving as an editor-in-chief with Abbie Muther (12) for the newspaper. While I had improved immensely in my leadership and communication skills, I had no idea what it would take to essentially run the program. If I were to choose one thing that made my job not only easier but enjoyable was being given the opportunity to work with the best team of editors including Danielle Huizar (12), Karina Shah (12), Emily Eslao (11), Kylie de Best (11), Tiana Salisbury (11), and Katelyn Ruggles (11). While this year was extremely busy with managing college applications, my classes, and other extracurriculars, I was able to earn my first “Best of SNO” award for one of my articles and The Wrangler was awarded the “Site Excellence” and “Multimedia Excellence” badges.

While ending my last year with The Wrangler is bitter-sweet, I can’t wait to see the program grow over the next few years. I’ll miss our podcast, pitch sessions, toilet papers, sleepy zero periods, printed newspapers, and controversy. Nothing can compare to what I’ve learned and experienced during the last few years. So, thank you.

Signing off, Suhani Bhanvadia