At the end of my junior year I, along with my other staff members, received my annual award certificate from the leadership in the class. This award deemed me as a “controversy chaser,” and I believe that this aptly describes my time as a writer for the newspaper.

I began to receive my reputation for writing big stories when the bomb threat occurred my sophomore year. This was my first year on the Sugar Beet staff, and while I sat in the stands at the football stadium I began to interview people. I conducted seven interviews as the situation unfolded, including one with the then superintendent, and before we were dismissed I had secured the assignment to write the official story. For the rest of the year I was assigned front-page stories that included a local criminal pursuit, a tornado that entered Garden City and the history of the namesake of the Sugar Beet newspaper — apparently my methods during the bomb threat had caught the eye of my editors. 

I went into my junior year with a reputation for writing big stories, and that year’s editors continued to throw me fastballs. My first story assignment of junior year was a follow up to a previous story I had written about the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. The response this story received expanded my reputation from writing big stories, to also tackling controversial topics. Throughout the next two years I continued to write about big stories; such as the election of Pope Leo XIV, fires that consumed land near Finney County and the notorious bird in the school cafeteria (that last one of course being a little less serious). In addition, I tackled more divisive subjects; ranging from Trump’s use of executive orders, local effects of the government shutdown, the drawbacks of a two-party system, an end to funding of public broadcasting and an ICE protest in Garden City. My three years of writing have been spent carving out a niche of controversy and big headlines. 

My experience researching, interviewing and writing about these many issues has taught me numerous things: chief among them being the importance of truly unbiased news. In all official stories I wrote, I shared the perspectives of others while keeping my own opinions quiet. In a world where everything leans right or left, it is important to seek out those who spread truth. In addition, I have learned the importance of having a voice. My two proudest writings are opinions condemning a satanic “Black Mass” in Topeka and systems that allow school shootings to exist. In a system that demands silence, a voice can be extremely powerful. While “controversy chaser” is a fun story to leave high school with, it is not what my writing experience has been about. The two most important things I leave the Sugar Beet with are a thirst for the truth, and an extremely confident voice.