Ana Cuen

I joined Wingspan pretty late in the game. It took me until junior year to take Journalism 1, and even then I had no intention of being part of Wingspan. I was just trying to get my technology credit, but when the opportunity came to “write a feature story about someone interesting in the school,” I could not pass up the chance to see what I could do. 

At first, it felt strange for me to reach out to random people and ask them if I could write a story about them, but I later found out how much I loved sharing what happened beyond the halls of Liberty. 

Now, two years later, I want to start by thanking Mr. Higgins for everything he has allowed me to do in the program. From Sept 2019 to today, Mr. Higgins never stopped pushing me as a writer. With the few months of experience I had coming into this school year, Mr. Higgins was there every step of the way to mold my writing and answer the billion questions I had about everything. 

I also want to thank every single person on staff. From texting you all last minute to write a story to laughing at the same jokes I always told, you made this year incredible in so many ways. 

When joining Wingspan, one quickly learns it is so much more than producing content. Wingspan is listening to the same song on repeat and not knowing when you memorized the lyrics to it. Wingspan is showing up after failing a test and forgetting about it by the end of class because you laughed so much. 

It still baffles me that this is the last thing I will ever write for the website. This moment is a lot less glorious than I thought it would be. It was during late-night postings and last minute interviews that I often wished for the school year to end, but a lot of things must end before you realize the value they hold. 

I do not regret waiting until junior year to join Wingspan. Not because I did not love it, but because I did. I think spending my first two years of high school in different organizations made it so much more special when I finally found my place at school when I entered room C102.

I told everyone, including myself, I would not come the last two weeks of school because grades would be done for seniors, but every morning I found myself back in the school parking lot. While I feel like I have outgrown this season of my life, I want to thank Wingspan for all the amazing people I have met and all the memories I now get to take with me to college.