After eight long semesters of being a part of this publication, over 150 articles have been published under my name. Reflecting upon my career here, I have selected the 10 articles that— though not necessarily my best work or the ones that I’m most proud of — are the ones that mean the most to me. Here they appear in the order that they were written.
1. “Men’s Basketball Looks For A Rebound” Dec. 10, 2015
There are so many things I could say but I think I’m just gonna leave this here. Thanks for letting me be your number one fan for four years guys. HERE WE GO HAWKS!
2. “Timeflies Gives Intimate Summer Show” Sept. 8, 2016
I am in no way qualified to write a music review. I did, however, get to meet and interview my favorite band, ever. Their logo is tattooed on my body forever, I take this sh*t very seriously. Plus, I got to eat a tater tot off of Cal Shapiro’s plate!
3. “Election Aftershock” Dec. 1, 2016
This piece is important to me because it is probably the most intimate piece I have ever published and it reflects a lot of the great minds that came before me on this staff. Being a part of this paper has made me so much smarter in so many ways and I really can’t thank the people I worked with in my first two years here for that. This piece really says it all. Being surrounded by such intelligent and passionate minds influenced me as a writer and as a person. Thank you all for the wakeup call.
4. “Low Voter Turnout Continues” Feb. 2, 2017
This was the first really in-depth feature piece I’ve ever written and I’m proud of it because of all the great conversations it led to. I spoke to so many different and intelligent people about their views and I thoroughly enjoyed and learned something new from each and every interview.
5. “My Top Ten: Songs by Train” Sept. 28, 2017
This is another one of my more personal pieces. I have loved Train forever and their music was a big part of my life for a long time. In sharing my favorites of their pieces, I was able to share a lot of the emotional side of myself which is something I admittedly struggle with on the day-to-day.
6. “Hugo the Hawk: Not Just Your Average Joe” Oct. 19, 2017
Writing is what I love to do. So what could be better than getting to do what I love and using it to share someone else and what they love. Joe Mausler is a New Paltz legend and I am so grateful that he was a part of my experience here. He is truly an incredible guy and I am honored to have had the opportunity to write such a fun piece about him. He deserves it.
7. “How to Invoke Your Rights in Police Encounters” Nov. 9, 2017
This piece is important to me because it’s one of the ones that I’ve written that I believe could genuinely help people. Knowing your rights is so important and it’s something that really isn’t talked about enough. I’m glad that I had an opportunity to make this information a little more accessible for young college students out on their own for the first time.
8. “Parkland Victims Honored in Nationwide Walkout” March 15, 2018
This article was another wakeup call for me. So much tragedy is so preventable and people don’t even know about it. It’s articles like these that remind me how important what we do here is. Awareness is the agent for change.
9. “Fly High Michele, Love Always Ray Ray” May 3, 2018
This one hurt. But losses like this should hurt. Michele was truly the kindest person I’ve ever known and I am humbled to have had the opportunity both to honor her and to heal in this way.
10. “Realistic Terrors Come to Light in Netflix’s ‘You’” Feb. 7, 2019
This piece ended up surprising me a little bit. I wanted to write this because it was a show that my friends and I all genuinely enjoyed watching together. At the time I wrote this, I ended up being reminded how much the world really sucks sometimes. Society needs to change and it will only change if we are willing to educate the public on these types of predators.
I have learned so much about myself and the world during my time on The Oracle and I truly can not imagine my experience here or the person I would be without it. Some of these pieces saved me from other parts of my life when I needed it most and some of them allowed me to highlight people that really, really deserved it. I am so grateful for and so proud of every article that my name has appeared underneath and I commend Oraclers of the past, present and future for taking advantage of such a fulfilling opportunity.