Truthfully, I have been thinking of this exact article for about a year. Ever since I was appointed as Editor in Chief of this fantastic newspaper, I have tried to pinpoint my legacy. I believe heavily in leaving things better than when I found them. For me, I can confidently say that I did that. My time at South Lakes would not be the same without The Sentinel. When I came to high school as a freshman, I was told that the next four years would be where I found my passion. I did not know what that would be, but looking back on it, this was always my path. As a kid, I would be enthralled by writing. I had a blog in 6th grade; it was not great, but still became an omen to my future. 

My life has not been riddled with consistency. Like anyone else, people come in and out, doors open and close. One constant over the past four years, though, has been journalism. During new student orientation before my freshman year, I walked the halls of this cavernous school and entered room 420. I had 8th period journalism with someone that would later become one of my closest confidants. Ms. Lisa Trigiano, better known as Ms. T, has made everything possible for me. As a freshman, I put minimal effort into my writing, but flourished nonetheless. Going into my sophomore year, I made it my goal to improve. I think that I did so in a huge way. I wrote over 30 articles by myself that year and stepped into the role as Sports Editor. Once Covid-19 hit, I knew that my future was in the newsroom. South Lakes was just going to be a training ground for me. 

That being said, practice is useless without failure and difficulty. I floundered at times when it came to being able to lead my peers. With the help of Ms. T, I got better at it, although it is still something for me to work on in the future. I became more confident in my writing and experimental with the types of writing. I think that while some were successful, I learned one of the most important lessons: how to fail and respond to failure. This applies to my personal life as well. Far be it for me to properly access myself, I view my past four years as incredible. Not just for the highs I achieved, but the responses to my failures.

The Sentinel is something that I have long nicknamed my brainchild. The newspaper itself was struggling when I arrived. Only later did I realize just how bad of a place it was in before I entered the picture. During my sophomore year, I worked with Leana Travis and Helen Ehrlich to revive the newspaper we all loved. It started with better promotion of The Sentinel; we made an Instagram account and found ourselves much more involved in the school community. Eventually, we needed to insert ourselves into the lives of the students, our main demographic of potential readers. During my junior year, we had no true way of doing so, but found ways around this roadblock anyways. Our social media presence allowed for us to reach a greater teenage audience. By the time I was named Editor in Chief, the job was halfway done. 

This year has not been easy. Serving as Editor in Chief has tested me in so many ways. I have learned to work with people instead of working for people. I saw the workload increase as I put myself in a position where I could barely keep up. Add onto the amount of tasks the fact that I had other responsibilities like a part time job, college applications as well as some semblance of a social life. 

My true goal this year was to print our newspaper for the first time since my freshman year. Clearly, we did that, and I am so proud of everyone for pitching in and making the process so much easier for me. I made it my biggest priority to ensure that the newspaper was printed and could serve as a physical reminder of all of my hard work. At times, it felt like the entire process was ready to fall apart and that printing was not possible. As a staff, we found ways around these issues and overcame them. 

I want to express my gratitude to so many people. First and foremost, Ms. T has been an absolute rock for me as well as many other students. I owe her so much, but hope that I have been able to give her anything close to what she has given me. I also want to thank everyone who I have worked alongside over the years. Specifically, Helen, who taught me so much about keeping this amazing newspaper functioning and productive. Also, Taylor Anderson, my Assistant Editor in Chief, who has balanced me in so many ways with her more laid back attitude. I think that I have learned a lot from you in terms of how to accomplish goals using different methods. Finally, my family has supported me and encouraged me to be the best version of myself in the classroom and in life. There is no way that I could be here today without any of them and many people that I could not mention. 

I have learned so much as a member of the South Lakes Sentinel family. Collaboration, time management and leadership skills are just a few of the many lessons that I have learned. For all the people that know me in class, I am far from easy to work with as I am high strung and tend to grate on everyone’s nerves in order to get the job done. I am now taking my foot off the gas pedal. This is no longer my newspaper. It is in the hands of the young, talented writers that will continue our legacy and momentum forged over the years. 

The next four years for me will be spent making new connections and learning even more about life and journalism. I will be attending Ohio University for the next steps in my educational career. I am looking forward to making new connections and learning even more lessons about life and this amazing industry. I hope that I can be an inspiration for someone looking to pursue media. Maybe the work that I have done in my time here will be forgotten quickly by others, but I will never forget my time here as a member of The Sentinel. 

-Marc Goldstein, Editor in Chief, 2021-22