Deciding on new leadership is both an exciting and challenging part of the spring semester. Every year, the process looks a little different, because every year, the people are different. The trickiest part is that, while we all talk about how we envision the class structure for the new year, when it comes down to it there is no way to predict how the new school year will run until we reach August. This year, we had all the staff members interested in a leadership position fill out an application to get a feel for how they plan to assist the class in the role they wanted and what qualifications they had to do so. We then interviewed each candidate and held a discussion. Mr. DeGear, senior Jaclyn Ambrose, junior Tess Allen, and I talked about who we felt would fit well into each role. Our decision-making board consisted of these people because we wanted impartial seniors with experience, along with one person who would still be in the class next year.

Most of these processes are simply formalities, as we already observe each staff members’ strengths and potential for leadership as they become more involved in the program throughout the year. However, interviews help us determine which roles the interviewees are most passionate about and who might work well together. Students that will make up the Etched in Stone leadership next year are as follows:

Co-Editor-in-Chiefs – Olivia Doro (senior) and Karen Manley (senior)

News Director – Liam Flake (junior)

Lead Copy Editor – Isabella Mahal (senior)

Assistant Copy Editors – Liam Flake and Anna Henning (sophomore)

Website Manager – Madison Booton (sophomore)

Beat Leader* – Anna Henning

*More Beat Leaders will be determined at the start of the next school year.

We chose Doro and Manley as Co Editor-in-Chiefs due to their passion and dedication to Etched in Stone, and opted to place them both in the Editor-in-Chief position because each has different strengths that are necessary to lead the class and will work well together. Flake, we believe, will be an exceptional News Director as he frequently knows of events happening all across the school and enjoys making new connections with people involved in different things. Mahal is our Lead Copy Editor due to her experience as a Copy Editor this year and passion for the job. Flake and Henning are both Assistant Copy Editors because they expressed equal excitement for grammar and style while also showing passion and capabilities for other roles. As a Beat Leader, Henning, much like Flake, is excited and capable of helping other staff members find stories throughout the school. Booton will be the website manager as she has some experience with different website platforms and is willing to learn and explore new ways to make the Etched in Stone website even better.

As current Editor-in-Chief, this process saddened me because it reminded me that I am truly leaving in just under a month. However, I believe that Etched in Stone is going into very capable hands, and I am beyond excited to see how they further improve the paper and reach out to the Fossil Ridge High School community.