Dear Readers,

I have taken upon a hefty order to write the Editor-in-Chiefs’ farewell letter. I thought the best way to do this whole thing would be to share a story of how we all got where we are. You might find it interesting, it could be incredibly boring, but I guess you’ll just have to read it. 

My freshman year of high school I was eager to try new clubs, but like many Prep students I traded my email for dessert, and never attended a single VeganMe or Pie and Prejudice meeting (no hate, you guys are amazing!). At the time, I was only fourteen years old, meaning I couldn’t drive, so everyday I waited until 4 pm for my parents to pick me up from school. Back then Prep got out at 2:30 everyday, leaving me with tons of freetime. One day, I was walking around after school when a girl named Natalie McMullin motioned me to come into Room 27. She was older than me, so of course I wasn’t going to ignore her. I walked in and took a seat as Sofie Corbett, the 2022-23 EIC wrote article titles on the whiteboard. Twenty-five minutes later I had been to my first ever Flintridge Press meeting and got pressured into writing an article. I never looked back.  

Pretty soon I met two boys in my grade: Dylan Choi and Isaac Jung. First off, it was so confusing trying to figure out when someone was talking to me (Dylan Docter) or when they were trying to talk to the other Dylan. However, it quickly became clear that Dylan would be a star sports writer and I would be an A&E warrior. Isaac, like the well-rounded insanely smart individual he is, wrote on everything: book reviews, robotics, SCAC. Over the past four years, I’ve had the privilege to work with them, watching us grow as leaders and editors, though I’d say we still miss a couple grammar and spelling errors hear and there…get it..? It’s supposed to be here! 

Not to toot our own horn, but this year has been one of the most, if not THE most, successful year for the Flintridge Press. Whether it was hours poured in after school, underlining changes to the print editions, or brainstorming sessions where the whiteboard became littered with ideas, for the first time in a very long time, Press members started to actually work as a team. Bella Ma and Sophia Xu partnered up to make incredible Morning Meeting videos, Lucas Stanton introduced a new style of A&E critic writing, Dylan Garnett brought new photography to our articles, and thanks to Henry Yoo, for the first time ever, real art made by Prep students was featured! 

And though the leadership may have had some rocky moments, (I remember when all the club members showed up for a meeting but none of the EICs were there because I hadn’t forgotten to email everyone.. Sorry guys!) I think the good outweighs the bad. One of my personal favorite memories remains our Holiday party pop culture Kahoot, which did happen two months late, but who’s counting? Nothing will ever beat hearing Ms. Srivastava say that YOLO means ‘You’re Only Loved Once’. She’s iconic! 

All in all, it has been a great run. Though I’m sure we all would love to take credit for the club’s success, we couldn’t have done it without Ms. Srivastava and every single one of our staff members. Thank you for your guidance, your feedback, the late night edits, and the creativity that you bring to each and every piece of work you create. While we are so sad to see our reign as EICs come to an end, we cannot wait to see what the future holds for this club and journalism itself. 

Peace out,

Your EICs

Dylan Docter, Dylan Choi, & Isaac Jung