Letter From The Editor

I never planned to join the school newspaper. In fact, when I first heard about The Salishian my freshman year, I didn’t think it was something I’d ever be part of or ever lead, but life has a way of surprising you, and this surprise became one of the most meaningful experiences of my high school career.

Over the past two years, I’ve had the honor of serving as editor of The Salishian. During that time, I’ve watched this program evolve from a quiet print publication to something dynamic and forward-thinking. We built a website. We launched an Instagram page, and we didn’t just report stories. We worked to make the paper something people could actually connect with in the real world. We took The Salishian out of the shadows and raised its voice.

What makes this all the more important is that The Salishian is approaching its 90th year. Ninety years of student-led journalism. That legacy deserves more than just survival; it deserves growth. This paper should continue to adapt, evolve, and stay alive for years to come.

It hasn’t always been easy. There were setbacks, late nights, deadlines we nearly missed (or maybe we did), articles we had to rewrite from scratch, and moments where it felt like things might fall apart. We dealt with limited resources, time crunches, and the unavoidable hiccups of running a student-led publication.

That’s what I’m most proud of. Not just what we created, but how we created it through teamwork and a shared commitment to doing things right. We learned to adapt, to hold ourselves accountable, and to stay focused when things got messy. That’s the reality behind every issue we printed: not perfection, but perseverance.

To our readers I want to sincerely thank you. You might not realize it, but every time you picked up an issue, read a story, or liked one of our posts, you helped keep this program alive. Your attention and support gave us purpose.

To our staff I want you to know that you are the core of this paper. You stayed late, rewrote drafts, chased interviews, and made the whole thing happen. I couldn’t have asked for a better team.

To our advisor, Ms. Katrina Venters, thank you for stepping into this role. You took on the challenge of leading this program without knowing exactly what you were getting into and still managed to guide us with patience, trust, and a calm presence. You let us take the reins when we needed to lead, but stepped in when it counted. You didn’t just keep this program afloat; you helped it thrive.

To the past editors, writers, photographers, and advisors, you laid the foundation we’ve been lucky enough to build on. Every edition, every headline, every story, helped shape this paper into what it is today. Your work built a tradition of student voice and storytelling that’s still alive and evolving to this day. 

To all the teachers and staff in the building that helped us edit, revise, and give feedback on our stories, thank you. You were an instrumental part of allowing us to get to print on time.

To the next editors and teams, keep pushing the boundaries of what this paper can be. The Salishian has been around for nearly 90 years for a reason. It’s my honor to turn it over to you, to keep it alive, and to make sure it continues to matter.

Thank you for the opportunity to lead, to grow, and to be part of something bigger than myself.

With gratitude and respect,