Reporter
Casey Manzella
As the 2012-2013 school year comes to an end, the Courant welcomes juniors Emily Brand, Tyler Kendall, Isabel Lawrence and Bryn Pennetti as the new Editors-in Chief (EICs) in place of Marcus Hijkoop, Kate Howard, Lily Kazemi, Sara Levine and Giuliana Savini.
According to English teacher and co-advisor of the Courant Mike McAteer, students are preparing themselves for the role of EIC from day one of the class. “You start to see what somebody is doing in their first year of the class and talk to them and try to find out what position in their second year in the class will prepare them for the kind of leadership role that they aspire to,” Mr. McAteer said.
For Emily her past two years in the class have prepared her well for her new leadership role. “Some may look at the EIC position and decide against applying because it requires a lot of work,” she said. “However, I have found that each of my years in the class have prepared me well for what the next step would be and for me that was the EIC position because I feel that I embody the qualities that an EIC needs to have.”
This past year was the first year the Courant was lead by an Executive Council as opposed to just two or three EICs. “One of the things that we asked this year’s Executive Council to do is write letters of advice for next year’s Executive Council,” Mr. McAteer said. “In those letters it seems like they thought it worked which I think is very important.”
One of the main reasons for this change was the ever developing world of technology and its role in journalism. EICs are now responsible for managing print, online and video media, a job much too large for just two or three people. While students can master one of these forms of media in their first two years of journalism, Mr. McAteer said he believes it takes much longer to master them all. “The goal of the executive council is to allow those students to strengthen the leadership skills that they already have and to integrate what they learn about leadership with new learning about journalism,” he said.
Emily, Tyler, Isabel and Bryn bring different experiences in many areas to the Executive Council. This past year Emily and Isabel served as co-editors of the news section. According to Roman Cebulski, technology education teacher and co-advisor to the Courant their background in news will greatly benefit the Courant next year. “They understand news and reporting and interviewing, which I think will be extremely handy when it comes down to editing and making those final journalistic decisions,” Mr. Cebulski said.
Tyler has served as Features Editor, an area of the paper which focuses more on creative stories. “I love writing and having been Features Editor I hopefully will be able to bring that insight of creative writing to the Courant,” Tyler said.
Current EIC Giuliana Savini also recognizes Tyler’s passion. “Tyler cares. She cares about perfection and she is truly invested in the success of the paper,” Giuliana said.
While Bryn served as Arts, Entertainment and Technology Editor, she has also been heavily involved in the visual elements of the Courant over the past two years. Bryn took Graphics her freshman year and is also an artist outside of school. She hopes to be able to bring these experiences to the Executive Council this coming year. “I think I have a creative element to bring to the Courant that I hope will help the paper’s overall look. Art is very important in a newspaper because it is what first attracts people to a page and I think I can bring the art in the Courant to a higher level,” Bryn said.
Mr. Cebulski also shared his enthusiasm to have Bryn’s experience on the Council. “I’m excited to have someone like Bryn back in that position of overseeing the art direction of the Courant both print and online,” he said.
While Emily, Tyler, Isabel and Bryn all bring their individual strengths to the Courant, they also have strengths as a group. Mr. McAteer reflected on the combined ability of the future council. “I think that all of the strengths that are needed to put together a newspaper and manage a website are present in that group,” he said. “When you boil it all down to what is the most important quality that they all share, it’s judgment.”
According to Isabel the new Executive Council has big goals for next year’s Courant. “With social media and online publications growing increasingly popular, I hope to get the Courant out there in different forms of media and strengthen the website next year,” Isabel said.
Mr. Cebulski also recognizes their potential for success. “I think it’s an incredibly strong group. I think it’s a smart group that will will be able to work together and communicate and adapt to any situation or problem that arises. More than anything though, I think that the group brings a lot of energy to the program and the Courant.”
