Giving Thanks

Samuel Boudreau, Editor in Chief

To help align my memories at the Voice, I want to devote the majority of this viewpoint towards thanks. First, I want to thank you, the reader, for taking time out of your day to read our newspaper. Whether satisfied or dissatisfied with our paper, your interest in our work inspires us to try and fulfill our attempts at journalism. Speaking of the Voice’s staff, I want to thank all of the staff members I had the pleasure to work alongside at the paper: Mekdes Shiferaw ’23, Melita Wiles ’22, Kaylee Liu ’23, Kayla Bertholf ’22, Miles Rochester ’25, Eliiot Barrengos ’26, Haley Huett ’23, Blakely Dishman, Langston Hood ’23, Alex Nathanson ’24, Gianna Hayes ’26, Julia Garrison ’25, Zach Perrier ’25, Emma Shinker ’24, Sam [great name btw] Killebrew, Caroline Ward ’25, Zoë Jurkowski ’24, Craig Akiri ’23, and Colin Schrein ’25. Your contributions to the Voice are immeasurable, only outdone by the positive impact you will make in your lives beyond Wooster.

There are a few staff members I met through the Voice whose memories have profoundly shaped me into who I am today.

To Geoffrey Allen ’23, whose reflections on college and life always help put my various problems and complaints into perspective, helping me find and center myself.

To Thomas Pitney ’24, whose passion for sports, the newspaper, and justice in the world brings a smile to everyone he crosses paths with in life. While your love of Boston sports pains me, your giant heart makes it slightly bearable.

To Mudiwa Mungoshi ’24, whose wisdom always enlightened my day and the Voice’s role within the campus community. If you have time in your day, I highly recommend Mudiwa’s viewpoint, “We Exist as One Community,” published on April 22, 2022. It is one of his many viewpoints that will change your life for the better.

To Colin Tobin ’23, for countless hours spent together uploading stories to the Voice’s website. Your dedication and work towards the Voice kept the Voice afloat this year, always willing to do whatever it took to maintain the paper’s mission and provide something for people to read every week. While you are quiet, your actions do enough talking for all of those around you. As the great Chuck Noll paraphrased from Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Your actions speak so loud, I can’t hear what you are saying.” You are the embodiment of that quote, my friend. Additionally, your fandom of Pittsburgh sports provides me with a space to share my love (and frustration) of our beloved teams, combating Eliot and Thomas’ Bostonian propaganda.

To Lark Pinney ’23, for being there every step of the way through this period of the Voice’s storied history. There is simply nobody else I would rather lead this newspaper alongside than you. While there were many moments of accomplishment and proudness at the Voice, there were equally as many difficult, stressful, and painful moments along the way. Through it all, however, we stuck it out, as you taught me so much about leadership, perseverance, and grace under pressure. I will forever be proud of making it to this point, the finish line, alongside you.

Turning to the “old guard,” I want to thank Maggie Dougherty ’21, Sam Casey ’21, Chloe Burdette ’21, Aspen Rush ’23, and Jonathan Logan (Jlo) ’22, for helping me start at the Voice and entrusting me to help lead the Voice, maintain its mission, and do my best to improve the paper. You all set the standard for the Voice’s purpose on this campus and your work is forever engrained in the story of this place. To Jlo, for countless late nights in the office, exploring old Voice copes and teaching me about the paper’s story, especially in times of historical enormity.

And, finally, to Bijeta Lamichhane ’22, my fellow news editor aka partner in crime, on the front pages of the Voice and the frontlines of the College. While we may have “ruffled a few feathers” among the College’s trustees, faculty, administration, and staff, I will forever look back on our work with proud eyes and cherished memories. You always supported my journalistic ideas and taught me so much community, belonging, and friendship. Whether we were slipping interview requests under custodians’ office doors, interviewing dining staff members, or struggling to find any content on Tuesday nights, you always reminded me that enough people care.

To Ellen McAllister ’24, Tyler Rak ’24, and Emilie Eustace ’24, Lark, Colin, and I are so proud you, and we are confident and excited to stand from afar and see your leadership of the Voice.

Closing out this chapter of my life, I want to finish by dedicating all of my work at the Voice to the memory of Rebecca (Becky) DeWine ’93, a Wooster graduate and Voice assistant features editor. Shortly after graduating from Wooster, Becky was an aspiring journalist at the Xenia Daily Gazette in Xenia, OH. Returning home from work, Becky was killed in a car crash in 1993. She was 22. I hope my written work honors her memory and inspires other students to pursue her dream.