I truly cannot believe that this is my last issue as editor-in-chief of The Oakland Post — not only my last issue as editor-in-chief, but my last time being a part of The Post in any capacity after almost four years.
The Post has been something that I’ve always had in my life throughout college, since before I knew what my major would be, what career I wanted to eventually pursue and where I wanted my college experience to take me.
I credit The Post for so much, and in many ways it has shaped my entire life for the last four years. The Post has become a part of my identity that I will truly have a hard time parting with, and hope to carry with me forever.
I also think I’ll still wake up in a sweat thinking that I forgot to send the press order on many Tuesday nights to come.
I have had the pleasure of being a features reporter, arts reporter and arts editor throughout my tenure at The Post, but my time as editor-in-chief has been the most formative experience of not only my academic career, but my life — not to be dramatic.
We say that The Post is a learning lab, and learn I did.
I knew how to write before my time as editor-in-chief — and I felt comfortable with that — but this role opened my eyes to so much more. Like how to manage people, hire for my weaknesses, solve unexpected problems on the fly, be brave and take a spark of an idea and turn it into a reality. Creating this paper every week has been the most gratifying experience.
This has been a very eventful year for The Post. From starting off hot in the summer with faculty contract negotiations to covering the presidential election to being on the ground for many powerful protests on campus, The Post was there for it all.
None of this could have been possible without the team around me.
Thank you to our Content Editor Morgan Warneke for editing every single article with me every week — from late Sunday nights to early Monday mornings. I am going to miss seeing your name pop up in SNO when I thought I was alone at 2 a.m.
Thank you to our Managing Editor Megan Judy for guiding our graphic design team and making our paper come to reality every week. I will miss witnessing the magic of your center spreads every Monday, but you have created an amazing team of designers and I know The Post will be in good hands.
To our section editors, Adrian, Noah, Chelsea, Mallory and Kurt, thank you for being such present leaders for your reporters. You have done an amazing job shining a light on topics that really needed it this year, and I am so proud of the content that we have produced. I will miss watching you all pitch stories that I wouldn’t even think of at our editors meetings.
To all of our reporters, thank you for being the boots on the ground, feeling out what’s really important to our student body and amplifying their voices. Your work is the reason why we could create this publication every week, and is truly needed in our world.
To our graphic designers, I loved seeing The Post’s creativity flourish this year with full page designs for stories, covers beyond just photos and collaborative center spreads. I will miss watching your creative ideas bounce off of each other each week — and your music recommendations.
To our photographers, thank you for bringing our stories to life each week beyond just written words. Our covers, stories, center spread designs and Instagram posts would not be possible without you guys.
To our distributors, thank you for believing enough in the power of print to deliver papers in freezing cold weather. You guys rock.
And finally, to our adviser Garry Gilbert, thank you. You have been a great mentor to me, and I hold your guidance in such high regard — from how to approach daunting topics to niche AP Style questions. I can only hope that I have made The Post proud.
My time at The Post was an opportunity that I will never forget, and an experience that I will cherish no matter where life takes me.
Long live The Oakland Post.
Signing off as your editor-in-chief,
Olivia Chiappelli
P.S. Don’t be surprised if you see a random movie review or something from me sometime between now and May 2 — I can’t go out like this.
