The time has come once again for The Meredith Herald to say goodbye to its senior writers. While some of this year’s seniors are staying on staff as guest writers in the summer or are not graduating until Fall 2021, The Herald wanted to take this opportunity to recognize our staff from the Class of 2021.
Katelyn Wiszowaty, The Herald’s A&E Editor since Fall 2020, has been on staff since Fall 2019. Katelyn said that attending meetings in person, prior to the pandemic, was a highlight for her, because it was “just awesome to hang out with a group of people who also cared about writing and have little nerd parties. Basically, I just felt so welcomed and felt like I was in the right place.” She added that her time with The Herald taught her more about journalism and improved her communication skills and confidence. Following her graduation, Katelyn will be teaching high school English in Wake County. Her parting wisdom for Herald staff members is “don’t be afraid to bring up the things you want to write about.” She explained, “It’s important that you care about the articles you work on because if you don’t, it will show in your writing. Don’t be afraid to put your ideas out there because even if no one else on staff is excited about it, there could be a bunch of other people excited to read it.” To the wider Meredith community, Katelyn said that no one should be afraid to be themself, and provided a poem that echoes her sentiment.
“She had blue skin,
And so did he.
He kept it hid
And so did she.
They searched for blue
Their whole life through.
Then passed right by–
And never knew.
- Shel Silverstein”
Erin Wendorf, one of The Herald’s copy editors, has been on staff for three semesters. Erin shared that her favorite moment with The Herald was “writing [her] first article by [her]self,” which is when she found her niche as an arts and entertainment writer. Since beginning her role as a copy editor, she also learned that reading someone else’s writing can be fun. After graduation in Fall 2021, Erin is planning on becoming a copy editor for a magazine or newspaper. For her parting wisdom, she said, “Don’t feel bad if your article doesn't garner as much attention as you'd hoped; as long as you're proud of the work you did, that's all that matters.”
Claire Heins, a staff writer with The Herald, has been on staff for two semesters. Claire said that her favorite moments include planning meetings, when she gets to hear other writers’ ideas, reading opinion, politics or pop culture articles. As someone who had never worked on a newspaper staff before The Herald, Claire said, “I’ve learned how to write in a different way than I’m used to.” Following graduation, Claire will be heading to NC State University and getting her Master of Science in Communication. As far as parting advice goes, Claire said, “College goes by super quick so take time out of your busy schedule and be sure to find ways to enjoy it!”
The Herald’s fourth senior, Julia Langenderfer, was on staff for the Spring 2021 semester. While her time was short, Julia was an involved member of The Herald. She was a frequent contributor to the A&E section and enjoyed writing reviews about TV shows and art.
By Olivia Slack, Co-Editor in Chief