“Moments that stand out”: Abigail Hoagland, Photo and Graphics Editor

If you had told me four years ago I would be writing this goodbye letter I would not have believed you one bit.  I’ve never been one for clubs and even less for goodbyes but I have some things to say about the absolute diamond among coal The Holly Spirit is. 

First of all I cannot say how thankful I am to have not been assigned a writing position at the paper, photos and copyright laws are way more in my limited wheelhouse.  Consider yourselves lucky you’ve all been spared from my less than stellar writing (at least until now).  

Amidst the second half of my high school career being completely uprooted from a global pandemic I haven’t done as much as I would have hoped at RV, however there are a few moments that stand out: winning the French club painting contest, getting three pieces into the senior art show and one in the school’s permanent collection, the entirety of English III honors and of course my part in The Holly Spirit.  

I’m extremely thankful to have been a part of this newspaper and I have to give a huge shout out to editor-in-chief and my dear friend Hamilton Scudder.  Between random discussions in the downtime of our photo meetings, last minute reminder texts to get things done, and countless hours spent in study hall together it’s been an amazing time to work on this paper together, huge props to you Hammy. 

I’d also like to thank Mrs. Sherman herself!  The girlboss that dug this paper out of the grave!  I had her for English III honors (the best class I’ve ever taken by the way) and she told us all to take journalism the next year and join the paper, so I did! 

I’d also like to thank Ms. Saiia and Mr. Furno from the Art Department for always supporting me in my art and allowed me to grow in my skills and break the rules of pretty much every art project.  Art classes were a highlight of my high school career and your support has been so important to me as an artist. 

To wrap up this goodbye I’ll say this to my successor: copyright law is the most complicated and annoying thing in the world to research, pray that you will not need it too often.