After three (or four?) long years, my time at Wingspan has finally come to an end.
Dozens of quotes and pictures, well over a hundred articles, and thousands of words… all brought to a close with a quick walk across the stage.
My first time in the Wingspan classroom I was… unnerved to say the least. Mr. Higgins divided us into groups (or rather, he made us pick groups) to give a (REALLY LONG!) speech/introduce ourselves to everyone else in the class. I think that was the first and last time I spoke in class that year.
By the time the end of the semester rolled around, I’d decided to take the class again next year (well, technically, I’d be in Newspaper and not Journalism) and try Wingspan. My first year in Wingspan was pretty similar to my freshman year in Journalism: getting interviews, writing articles, and mostly (I did a lot of this) reading books.
Another important constant through my first few years in Wingspan: my seat never changed. I would always sit by the door, which meant I was always responsible for opening the door for people, which meant that eventually I got to the point where I could just scoot back my chair and open the door without ever looking up from my book.
My junior year was when things started to change (although I was still in the same seat). One of the editor-in-chiefs at the time, Christine, asked us to come talk to her if we were interested in being a managing editor. Seeing as I spent the bulk of my time reading a book, I figured it couldn’t hurt and let her know.
From there, things completely transformed. Every week, I’d sit down at my computer and figure out what articles needed to be written this week for my assigned section, A&E. I’d update the Whiteboard (our planning tool), assign articles, and spend every waking moment spam-messaging people (ok, not really) to turn in their articles so I could post them. Sometimes, I’d even diversify my schedule by running around trying to find appropriate pictures for the articles I needed to post!
As cynical as I sound, being an editor truly taught me so much. Learning how to communicate effectively, learning how to think on my feet to handle crises, and – my least favorite lesson to learn – learning how to work with a team. I think the moment I remember the most – and the moment I learned from the most – was when we needed a picture for a review that had to be posted that day.
There were no suitable pictures in our existing bank of photos and the author of the article hadn’t shared any. I frantically texted Christine, asking what to do, and she told me to take a screenshot of a picture from the website of the restaurant that the review was about.
“Well, what about the photo credit?” I asked. And that’s when things really got… uncomfortable. Christine told me to call (actually CALL) and talk (OVER THE PHONE) with the restaurant to get permission to use the photo. Heart pounding, hands shaking, I, the person who literally never looked up from her book in class, dialled the number and pressed the phone to my ear.
The restaurant never picked up. I sent them an email just to be sure and posted the article. That moment taught me something I still use to this day. First and foremost that things are never that deep: I’d worked myself up over the phone call, only for it to never happen. But more importantly, that there’s always a solution to whatever problem I face. No picture? Find one on the Internet. No one picked up the phone? Send an email. Someone didn’t finish their article for me to post? Find one from the dark recesses of the Whiteboard.
If there was one big lesson that I would say that Wingspan taught me, it would be that: that I have the skills and the know-how and the willpower to figure things out.
Now looking back at my Wingspan journey, I’m amazed at how far I’ve come. I no longer sit in the chair by the door; I sit at the (unofficial) editor-in-chief (EIC) desks with the best co-EIC I could’ve asked for, the amazing Lea. I talk to people and don’t spend all my time (outside of doing my work) reading a book (although I think Mr. Higgins would dispute that). I’ve written some really cool things and interviewed some really interesting people. And most of all, I’ve grown into a better team player, an effective communicator, a more confident person, and hopefully, a good leader.
The last thing I have left to say is thank you. First and foremost, thank you to Mr. Higgins for (first and foremost) convincing me to try Journalism when I was an eighth grader at the Redhawk Rally, encouraging me to join Wingspan, and pushing me to interview more people, ask more questions, write more articles. Thank you to Christina for giving me an opportunity to serve as managing editor. Thank you to Lea for being the best, most reliable, most supportive, funniest, kindest EIC I could’ve ever possibly asked for. Thank you to our amazing team of managing editors and our wonderful Wingspan staff, this year and years past.
And most of all, thank you to Wingspan! It’s been my absolute pleasure writing for you these past four years.
Sincerely,
Sankeertana Malakapalli
