For seniors, May is a month of anticipation for graduation and a bittersweet end to the six years they’ve spent at Oxford. For the last senior spotlight of the school year, Gamut seniors reflect on their journey from freshmen to valued senior staff.
Haley Nguyen, Editor in Chief — Favorite Gamut memory?
“Our first-ever Spaghetti Factory lunch in my sophomore year. In our freshman year, competitions involved showing up to the write-off and then dispersing. So, that was the first competition that I thought we were all competing as a staff, not individually. And that’s where I felt like I built a lot of relations with people outside of my grade, because for the longest time, it’s always just been me talking to only Sydnee and Rachel. But that was the year that I was able to talk to so many more people.”
Rachel Yoon, Managing Editor — Advice for underclassmen?
“I think my top advice would be to put your health first. Especially in junior year, I definitely did not put my health first. I was miserable the entire time, sleeping an average of two hours a day, not drinking enough water, and not exercising enough. I feel like senior year is when I realized that once you start doing the basic stuff,… is when you have that baseline of happiness and security in your life. So I think, especially in high school, you have to realize that college, academics, they’re important. But they’re not everything.”
Sydnee Cho, Web Editor — How has Gamut shaped your high school experience?
“I think that at Oxford, a lot of clubs are kind of shallow — no shade. People only join because they want something to put on their resume, but they don’t actually seek to make connections with people in the club. It’s kind of sad because a lot of clubs emphasize community bonding, but they end up feeling very cliquey. But the Gamut has been my family since freshman year, and I really appreciate that I could actually build connections with people outside of my grade.”
Jimena Beltran, Senior Staff Writer — How have you changed since joining Gamut?
“Gamut has made me a much stronger writer. It’s taught me to value honesty and integrity. There are so many people’s stories that need to be told and aren’t, and we’re kind of there to give them a voice. It’s really freeing to be able to be part of a community that’s about uplifting and helping people in communities be seen. In the beginning, it was more of an extracurricular, but then the more you progress and build bonds, it all kind of comes together and you really do start to feel like a family and like a newspaper that relies on each other.”
Vanessa Marin-Ixlan, Senior Staff Artist — One takeaway from being in Gamut?
“Gamut forced me to care about my hands’ health. There was a two-week period where I couldn’t do anything because my wrist was burning, it was dying. So I have to care about this now because I have an art class, and then I also have Gamut, so… my wrist is going to fall off when I’m 20 years old.”
With the school year finishing up soon, The Gamut wishes all Oxford seniors the best for their bright futures!
