Four years ago, a young, shy, awkward girl walked into the high school news room for the first time. Three years ago, she walked into the same room, holding the title of associate editor. For two years, she served as an associate editor doing everything from editing stories, to forging bonds with reporters, to furthering her understanding of the scholastic journalism world. Nine months ago, this shy, not-as-young, still very awkward girl walked into the news room for her “last” first time, now having the honor of serving as the Mountain Echo Editor-in-Chief. She now writes this column as her final act as Editor-in-Chief. 

No leader is a leader without their team. The Mountain Echo would not have been able to accomplish a tenth of what we have this year without my associate editors: Mattie Baker and Emmalee Martyak. In many ways, our trio had the cards stacked against us as none of us were in the room at the same time due to scheduling. However, that did not break us – if anything, it made us stronger. Even through challenges, these two incredible leaders worked through them and helped create a team and a publication that we are proud of. 

A publication is nothing without its staff. I am beyond lucky to have spent the past year with my amazing reporters, and I hope that each and every one of them – whether this is their first year on staff or their last – knows how grateful I am to have been a part of their publications journey. Writing stories, taking photos, creating podcasts are all a vital part of being part of the Mountain Echo staff, but those are not the things I cherish most about this incredible team. No, it is seeing every single one of them grow as reporters and people over the course of the year that makes this staff so special. I would not trade these incredible people for anything in the world. Thank you to you all for making this year so memorable and impactful for me. Being your Editor-in-Chief has been one of the greatest experiences and honors that I could ask for. 

I am always proud of the Mountain Echo Newspaper, but this year has been one of our strongest in terms of awards – both individual and full publication. While the Mountain Echo does not normally brag about our accomplishments, I would be remiss if I didn’t take this moment to show off their success.

The first award I want to talk about is the Best of SNO Award. The Best of SNO Award is given out by SNO Websites, which is the back end of our publication. This year, we have had six staff members receive Best of SNO awards. 

I wish to highlight Cece Gibson – a first year newspaper staffer – who received a Best of SNO for her story “New metal detectors introduced to strengthen safety protocols.” This story was her first foray into the News and Featuring writing world, as she wrote predominantly opinion early on in the year. Congratulations Cece. 

I also want to highlight Melissa Krainer. Whenever the Mountain Echo needs someone to cover diverse and engaging stories, Melissa is our go-to reporter. Melissa has served on staff since her freshman year and has been an asset to our staff since her first story was published four years ago. This year, she blew us out of the water by winning not one, not two, but three Best of SNO Awards. Congratulations Melissa. 

Senior Mattie Baker and Sophomore Nevaeh Hegedus received a Best of SNO for their story, “Teachers compete to collect phones.” I am so proud of these two, and know they will go on to do incredible things — I can’t wait to see what they are.

Last but not least, sophomore reporter Andie Kephart received her first Best of SNO two weeks ago for her story “Hard of hearing athlete swims at para states.” Andie has been on staff for two years, and in that time became one of our most reliable reporters. When not writing stories, Andie is one of our strongest podcasters. Congratulations Andie. 

Moving into our other awards. I’ve said it a million times already, but I truly could not be prouder of the staff we had this year. Over the course of this school year, we received: A Gold Award with one mark of Distinction from the National Scholastic Press Association, a Gold Award from Pennsylvania School Press Association, third place at the Myron Cope Awards for Best High School News Sports Section, Second Place at the Keystone Media Awards, Melissa Krainer received an honorable mention at the Keystone Media Awards for her work in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Six SNO Badges making us a Distinguished Site and Five PSPA State Finalists. Of those five finalists, Mattie Baker won first place in the state for editorial cartoon. 

I love getting to share the accomplishments of the Mountain Echo, but that is not what determines their success as a staff. To me, the success of our publication is not due to winning high ranking awards – though it is fun to do. Our success is determined by the team building that our staff has done this year. In the four years I have been a member of the Mountain Echo, there has always been comradery and team work. However, this is the first year I have felt truly connected to the entire staff. The Mountain Echo – like any group – does not function without trust, communication, understanding, and connection. This staff knows when it is okay to have fun and when we need to “lock in.” That being said, if I never hear the phrase “6-7” again, I’ll consider myself lucky. 

I can’t not take the opportunity to showcase our 2025- 2026 Mountain Echo seniors. This year, we have seven seniors who are in their final days on staff. Bailey Diehl, Cece Gibson, and Elijah Lucio are all first year staff members. Since joining our team, they have all provided a unique journalistic style and brought something new to the table. Whether it was Elijah’s knowledge of sports, Cece’s chronicling of students’ diverse opinions, or Bailey’s intricate deep – dives into a social media, consumerist world, all three bring something to the publication that we haven’t seen before. Mattie Baker and Cevin Dively are both third year staff members. Cevin is always willing to write what needs to be written and does so with a smile on her face. Her quiet personality leads to a positive and energetic reporter. Mattie writes incredible opinion articles and movie reviews with fellow Associate Editor Emmalee Martyak, while also taking on more intricate sports features, and editing every story prior to publication. Mattie is honest, but humorous in her edits, making our staff feel comfortable and willing to take her advice. Melissa Krainer, as I mentioned before, has served four years on Mountain Echo staff. It has been a pleasure watching her grow over the course of four years, winning over five Best of SNO awards, being a three time PSPA State finalist, and creating curriculum on DEI for NSPA. To the Mountain Echo seniors, thank you for everything you have done for our publication. I am so grateful to all of you, and know you will all do incredible things with your life. Thank you for doing incredible things for the Mountain Echo and serving as a role model for our underclassmen. 

I would like to take a moment to recognize the Mountain Echo editorial team for the 2026-2027 school year. Associate editors are: Andie Kephart and Lucille O’Brien and Tanner LaMark, while Social and Multimedia are being spearheaded by Mackenzie Lego and Isabella Benjamin. These five reporters have been incredibly hard-working and enthusiastic in their journalistic pursuits, and I know they will help the Mountain Echo to thrive. The 2026- 2027 Mountain Echo lead editor is Emmalee Martyak. I could not be more excited or proud to see Emmalee step into this role. Between her innate leadership abilities, and her sarcastic, yet charming, outlook, I know that the Mountain Echo could not be left in better hands. Congratulations Emmalee and congratulations to the next editorial team. 

I want to take a moment and extend my thank you’s to our adviser, Mrs. Vanish. For four years, she has put up with every crazy idea, action, or choice I’ve made, and has backed me fully. She has never wavered in her belief in me, and has always pushed me to reach the highest of heights. She has been one of my greatest mentors, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with her and learn from her. I know I don’t say it enough, but thank you, Mrs. Vanish, for everything you do – for me and for our publication. 

Thank you to my news team for putting up with me this long. If I have taught you anything this year, I hope it is this: Never stop pushing to be the best you that you can be. I have watched each of you grow –whether it was over the course of this year or many years – and I am so proud of the growth each and every one of you has had – not only as reporters, but as people. Thank you for giving me the honor and the privilege to watch you all succeed this year. I can’t wait to see what you accomplish in your futures. 

As for me, Mountain Echo has opened me up to a world of possibilities and opportunities. I did a summer program with Columbia University dedicated to Editorial Leadership. I was a National Youth Correspondent at the Washington Journalism and Media Conference. I was a PSPA State finalist. I’ve won five Best of SNO awards. These accomplishments all sound great — and they are — but it was getting the opportunity to spend time with my reporters, learning to write hard-hitting stories, eagerly talking to accomplished athletes and forging a family within the Mountain Echo staff that means the most to me. I have struggled all year with the idea of leaving, but in my final days, I feel at ease knowing that our team did a phenomenal job this year. I hope, in some small way, I am leaving this amazing team better than I found it. When I walk across that stage on June 5, my brain will race with every memory from the past four years, and I can say with absolute certainty that the Mountain Echo will be the majority of them.

Following graduation, I will be attending Penn State Altoona, majoring in English and minoring in Communications. I will be taking every lesson, big, small, and in between, that I have learned from the Mountain Echo and applying it to my future.

Four years. 720 days. Hundreds of edits. Thousands of memories. Since my first day walking into the newsroom, I knew what my end goal was – to be Editor-in-Chief of the Mountain Echo Newspaper. It wasn’t about the title. It was because I knew, in my own way, that I could make a difference in our publication. Serving as the Mountain Echo Editor-in-Chief has been, without a doubt, one of the best experiences of my life. Anyone who knows me, knows the love that I have for this incredible publication. Through every up and down, we have come out the other side stronger than before. You would think that after four years on staff, I would excel at word choice, but I do not have the words to express how much this publication has meant to me. I was listening to a song the other day, and my final words came to me. As Stevie Nicks once said: “I’ve been afraid of changing cause I built my life around you.” It sounds crazy, but I’ve dedicated my high school career to the Mountain Echo, and I wouldn’t have wanted to spend my time at Altoona High School doing anything else.  I’ve built my life around this publication, and I am afraid of changing, but I’ve gotten older. I know it’s my time to go and I hope that when I do, I’ve made a difference.