It’s time. My reign as editor in chief has come to an end.

There were ups and there were downs, but everything came together in the end.

I became editor in chief last May. It was the biggest responsibility that was put on me in my life.

Going from only veterans writing while rookies learned the ways of journalism to making sure that three stories are published a day, things worked out well for The Eclipse.

There are many people I would like to thank for making this year the best.

First, Kayla Smith for being my amazing managing editor and working hard with me to keep The Eclipse running.

Second, the amazing Eclipse editors. I would like to thank Aysia Booth for always being a friend and for being bluntly honest when people needed it. I would also like to thank Hunter Johnson for always being positive and becoming the best editor she could be. Also, Karmen Bishoff for being the only rookie editor and stepping up to do a great job at it.

Hannah Coon, for putting her photography and writing skills to the test as a first-year photography editor and journalist.

Nadia Koontz, for still writing great pieces without being in the class, and for using the class to continue to become a better writer.

Makenzie Schroeder, for running The Eclipse’s Facebook and Twitter pages and for organizing all of our parties.

Next, Ryan Thomas, for still excelling while being the only sophomore in journalism last year, and for becoming such a great friend of mine. I’m proud of you for getting to be the only three-year journalism student next year.

Andrew “Bubby” Flynn, for writing all the war pieces and for covering many of the event anniversaries so I didn’t have to.

Gracen Nelson, for becoming such a great friend of mine, and for writing so many opinion pieces.

Chance Wikaryasz, for bringing the comedy to the newspaper that is “not The New York Times.”

Katelyn Elumbaugh, for writing great pieces and pushing herself to become a journalist.

Hailey Whitlock, for eating a taco salad every day for lunch.

Zack Broughton, for becoming such an amazing friend and for writing a lot of sports briefs.

Makalia Jenkins and Lauren Richardson for writing fashion pieces and taking constructive criticism to become better writers.

Jacob DePottey, for writing the video game-based pieces I wanted to see on the site.

Jalen McClain for writing comparison pieces and for proving he can be a journalist despite the criticism from others.

To Ave’r McKay, you are amazing. I am incredibly proud of how far you have come in this class and I hope the class takes you even further in the future.

And finally, to Mr. Darrick Puffer, I am incredibly thankful for the position you put me in. You made me the writer I am today. You helped me decide that I want to be a journalist for the rest of my life. Thank you for that.

All in all, my time in The Eclipse was wonderful. I hope everyone next year can say the same.

I am incredibly proud of everyone.

The Eclipse met every goal this year that I wanted us to meet. We have consistently published more than one story each day. We also earned five SNO badges, something that I saw at the beginning of the year as merely a dream.

I hope that everyone moves on to do good things and maybe even change the world.

It’s sad seeing this all come to an end, but I’m ready for the next step in life.

Thank you to everyone for being so supportive. You all are why this newspaper is functioning.

The Eclipse has been my life for the past two years. I’m really going to miss it.

It’s hard to say goodbye to a place I’ve called home.

Goodbye, and good luck. I believe in you all.

Your Friend,

Katie Valley, editor in chief