Hi everyone! My name is Madalynn Lewis, and I am the next Co-Editor in Chief with the lovely Anna Henning. I cannot speak highly enough of my Co-Editor in Chief. Anna has truly changed my life for the better and seems to know me better than I know myself. We have actually known each other since fifth grade, but our paths had never crossed until our freshman year when we both stumbled into room N123 for our first journalism class.

At that phase in my life I was incredibly dedicated to playing soccer, to the point where it was annoying for my friends and family. Anna was a ballerina. That was the extent of my knowledge. However, over the next couple of weeks it would become increasingly difficult to ignore that Anna and I were the same person. Needless to say, we were both shocked to realize we were both huge nerds. Star Wars was (and still is) Anna’s primary source of nerdom while I had (and still do have) an unhealthy obsession with Harry Potter. Luckily enough, we were both well versed in each other’s interests. As we began to get to know each other better, I was frustrated by the fact that I had known of Anna for nearly four years, and was just now getting to know her on a personal level. We played Cool Math Games literally everyday in the back of the classroom in between articles and bonded over our weird obsessions with fictional characters. As our freshman year concluded, we both knew that we had someone we could count on for anything. 

As we started sophomore year, Anna and I were both given leadership roles within the Etched in Stone staff. Anna started as the activities director while I became the sports director. By the middle of the year, we had become joined at the hip while we dreamed of becoming Co-Editors in Chief together. 

Flashforward, nearly two years later, we have achieved our collective goals and are ready to give Etched in Stone our hearts and souls. While we are both disappointed that COVID-19 has changed the role journalism plays in our lives, we acknowledge how lucky we are to have such a wonderful staff and advisor. They are truly the lifeblood of Etched in Stone. 

The process of creating a virtual class has really forced both Anna and myself to step up our game. We had to change our expectations for ourselves, the staff and the overall culture of Etched in Stone. It was really hard for both of us to compromise on our dreams for the class, but we both understand how important it was to adapt to a situation neither one of us had any control over. 

Over the summer, Anna and I decided to completely change the layout of the website. Neither one of us had any idea what we were doing, and it became obvious that I am essentially illiterate when it comes to technology. Nonetheless, I gave it my best shot. I had completely broken the website multiple times, at one point every letter color was white; we could not see any word on the website for several weeks. Over the next couple of months I had begun to figure it out, and did my best to explain to Anna how to change widgets and schemes. When we were able to work on it together, we screamed with joy when we were able to shift one ad space over. 

I am so beyond excited for this year and I feel ready to officially start being an Editor in Chief. 

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