My freshman year, during quarantine, my dad would print out something called “The   Norse Star” every month. I had no idea what it was, so naturally, I never read it. My sophomore year, I would open up every new issue to the A&E section, scan it for anything good, then close it. My senior year, I’ll be the Editor-in-Chief of The Norse Star.
During my sophomore year of high school, first semester, I had Ms. Streyle as a teacher for my LA 10 class. Constantly written on the board were scheduled interviews, story assignments, and random Norse Star doodles. In October, I had seen enough. I decided that I simply must be a part of this cool little club called The Norse Star. I marched up to Ms. Streyle, thinking that this would just be an after-school thing, and said “I want to join the Norse Star!” After I was informed that I would have to switch up my schedule and drop a class, my ambition to be a part of this was gone. It was just too much change for me, a person who likes to plan ahead and feel prepared.
Then, right before winter break, I had a change in heart. Ava Parr, who is currently the Editor-in-Chief of The Norse Star (and at the time was one of my classroom friends), convinced me to. The allure of investigative journalism pulled me in, promising interesting stories and research. Part of the application process was submitting a piece of investigative writing, and I decided to write something specifically for my application. This is when I discovered my love for journalism.
I interviewed Ms. Maloney during my lifetime fitness class, while we were speed walking around the neighborhood. I remember, while re-listening to my recording to get quotes, my heavy breathing in the background. It was hard to keep up with a gym teacher with longer legs than mine. I wrote my article about the importance of lifetime fitness, and I remember reading my article when I was finished, and thinking, I bet people would read this if it was in The Norse Star.
I joined the class at semester. On the first day, it was a page night, and Ava and Anja Royko (who was the Editor-in-Chief at the time) had me just read the ethics page, since there was nothing else to do until the start of the month. I didn’t start to contribute to The Norse Star until February, but I began to make friends immediately.
Two of my best friends, Ava Parr and Lauren Amstadt, are leaving this year as seniors. Lauren is the current Associate Editor-in-Chief, so she, Ava, and I as the Sports Editor, work closely together in producing the publication. I have many good memories of us as a trio. Last summer, we went to a concert to see a band none of us had heard of, and we had a ton of fun. We went to go get sushi, but Lauren had to get the veggie rolls because she doesn’t like raw fish. Both of them are insanely kind, smart, funny, and caring. I’ve told them all of my deepest darkest secrets. I love them both so much, and I have full confidence that they will both be successful in the careers and education they go on to do. I will miss them greatly.
A huge thing that I’ve learned from Ava is how to manage all of the duties of the Editor-in-Chief. Throughout the year, I’ve asked and she’s allowed me to take over some of the position’s monthly duties, such as creating the checklist and LucidPress document, where we make our issues. Her doing this allowed me to feel more comfortable coming into the job with full charge. Lauren’s friendliness has taught me to be welcoming and kind, which is obviously extremely crucial to be a leader. Lauren making friends with many of the staff members showed me that being in a position of leadership requires being respectful and friendly to your teammates.
Simon Mehring will be The Norse Star’s Associate Editor-in-Chief next year. He joined only this year, as a sophomore, but with how he writes, you’d think he’s been in journalism for years. He loves to write in news, and he’s good at it, too. He works so hard every single month to get the information that he needs for his articles. I’m the most impressed with his dedication to get good sources. He schedules countless interviews with important people every month. He attended the gubernatorial inauguration, I tagged along, and together we wrote a very well-written cover story about the political status of Wisconsin. We attended a “Ron on the Road” campaign, and he fearlessly interviewed Ron Johnson’s supporters with deep, thoughtful questions about the politics of Wisconsin. Not only is Simon a hard worker, he’s also another one of my best friends. He’s caring and smart, and never fails to make anybody laugh. I look forward to working with Simon to lead The Norse Star next year.
A huge change to the Norse Star’s staff next year will be the leaving of our adviser, Ms. Streyle. I can safely say that Ms. Streyle has taught me almost everything I know about journalism within itself: the ethics, work, and heart that it takes. Her journey will continue elsewhere, and although I’m sad she’s leaving, I wish her all of the best for wherever she goes. I am excited to work with Mr. Thomas, our new adviser next year on The Norse Star. I want to focus on helping everybody learn who needs it. My biggest goal for The Norse Star is to create an environment of people who are able to work in tandem towards the ultimate goal: a finished, thoughtful publication. As one, unified community, I am confident that we can achieve this.
So, to every single one of our future editors and staff writers, I want to thank you for continuing to stay in or joining The Norse Star. I feel honored to have been able to work with Grace Greenwald, Julia Schaefer, Madison Luick, Bhoomi Patel, Jade Garfoot, Lilly LaPointe, Madeline Monthie, Rae Peterson, Naomi Matthiessen, Miles Heritsch, Mary Bubon, Kaitlyn Broderick, Bode Jensen, and Bella Patrinos, and I look forward to working with those returning next year. As a team, I have full faith that we will continue
The Norse Star as the respected, award-winning student publication that it is. I am prepared and excited to help all of you succeed in your writing, layouts, and reporting!