Every school year, The Panther’s leadership selects a new group of leadership consisting of the most dedicated staffers from the school year. These new leadership members will maintain the work standard of The Panther, and each has unique qualities that will elevate the publication to a new level. Beginning May 1, new leadership will take over their positions. They have spent the past month shadowing old leadership and learning the ins and outs of their jobs and responsibilities.
Sara Paredes, 2024-25 Editor-in-Chief
Paredes will be The Panther’s Editor-in-Chief next year. This means that she leads both leadership and the rest of the staff on all fronts, including writing quality, deadlines, social media, creative direction and more. Paredes serves as the “face” of The Panther and will make any final decisions necessary.
“As The Panther’s next Editor-in-Chief, I’m really looking forward to fostering a positive environment on staff and bringing everyone together as a family. I can’t wait to spend my last year on staff with such an amazing and diverse group of students with different opinions and outlooks on all aspects of life,” Paredes said. “I’m also hoping to leave The Panther with an impactful legacy of working hard and playing hard together.”
Paredes has excelled to the highest position in the publication. As a past Copy Editor, Feature Editor and Senior Copy Editor, Paredes has dipped her toes into various teams and sections of the paper, setting a strong foundation for leading the newspaper as EIC next year.
“As the second generation of freshman year staffers, my time on The Panther and various accomplishments have all accumulated to becoming EIC.
As a freshman, Amy-Grace Shapiro and I became the first underclassmen to write a Feature story for print. As a sophomore, I helped to reimagine our feature section and style of writing. This year, I introduced new leadership styles for managing copy editors, and I cannot wait for the year ahead,” Paredes said.
Coming up on her fourth year with The Panther, Paredes hopes to leave a lasting impact on the publication and surrounding community.
“My biggest goals for staff next year are discovering new ways of printing and being able to make sure our issues and hard work are appreciated throughout the school. Looking into printing less frequently and at larger quality, expanding our video journalism efforts and broadening our sports coverage are among the goals I have for staff in the coming year,” Paredes said.
Brooke Wilensky, 2024-25 Print Editor-in-Chief
Wilensky serves as next year’s Print Editor-in-Chief. This means that she will primarily focus on The Panther’s print issues, ensuring their writing, design, multimedia and structure quality. For anything involving print issues next year, Wilensky has the final say.
“I am most excited to create fun and exciting print issues next year. I love our print publication, and I am excited to continue to grow it,” Wilensky said. “Writing for The Panther has been my favorite part of high school, and my love for journalism and this staff shines through in all of the work I do.”
As a returning member of staff, Wilensky has developed countless relationships on the paper and looks forward to applying the skills acquired in her different roles to her new position.
“Next year, I am looking forward to working with and getting to know all of staff. We have some amazing journalists on our team, and I am looking forward to working with everyone. My favorite part of The Panther is our amazing staff. I absolutely love getting to know everyone and have made so many new friends,” Wilensky said.
Wilensky looks forward to increasing readership with more school-wide interactive elements.
Ava Stuzin, 2024-25 Online Editor-in-Chief
Where Wilensky focuses on print issues, Stuzin directs her energy toward next year’s online publication. As The Panther staff affectionately states, “Online never sleeps.” Stuzin has the qualities to ensure that the website not only remains up to date with newsworthy content but also that the online publication expands to a place where students can come to learn about the school happenings.
“I am most excited to manage the website, look over everyone’s work and watch how it progresses throughout the year. Online is often referred to as the part of the newspaper that doesn’t sleep, so I am excited to take on this new role and make sure everything runs smoothly,” Stuzin said.
As a member of staff for three years, Stuzin has established that she has many of the necessary skills for leading staff and heading the online production. Stuzin notes that being the News Editor this year has given her the skills to ensure a cohesive end product through communication and teamwork.
“Next year will be my fourth year on staff, and for the past two years, I have served as the News Section Editor making me qualified for this role,” Stuzin said. “Within the online section of The Panther, I have written for every section and am ready to take the next step to a bigger position.”
Next year, Stuzin hopes to accomplish a multitude of goals, including communication among staff, timeliness for online coverage and more.
“The Panther has allowed me to meet new people and form new friendships with a new group of people in all grades. Over my time on The Panther, I have loved being able to work and collaborate with new people,” Stuzin said.
Alex James, 2024-25 Managing Editor
The Managing Editor of The Panther serves as the social media coordinator and oversees the grades of the paper’s staff. In her capacity, James will demonstrate a creative direction for one of the most viewed parts of the publication.
“I am qualified for this position because I know a lot already about social media posts and how to make them engaging for a high school audience. I am also very determined and passionate about The Panther,” James said.
As Managing Editor, James is responsible for all content on The Panther’s Instagram page requiring a combination of her old skills and ones she must learn.
“I’m really excited to learn about the inner workings of social media marketing and increase my design skills,” James said.
James treasures the relationships that she has created through The Panther and looks forward to continuing this in the coming year.
“Easily, the amazing friendships I have formed and the powerful stories I feel so accomplished to have written and shared,” James said.
Gabriella Alvarez, 2024-25 Business Manager
Alvarez takes over the financial operations of The Panther on May 1. Her job involves expanding The Panther’s advertisement outreach, raising money for new equipment and handling all of The Panther’s purchases. Alvarez’s creative mind and background as a copy editor allow her to take this job and expand it, making it a central part of The Panther.
“I have been a dedicated and committed staff member for two years, and have been on The Panther’s business committee this past year. Being on this committee has given me a head start on learning everything I have to do as Business Manager,” Alvarez said.
In her position, Alvarez can influence all fronts of The Panther, and the old leadership team knows she will do this with grace, always putting a smile on staffers’ faces in the process.
“I look forward to working with leadership to incorporate new ideas into our class to improve our paper. I’m also looking forward to having a greater role in class and helping any staffers in need,” Alvarez said. “My favorite part of The Panther is our staff. Everyone gets so close and we become a family; it’s really great to bond over journalism with others that are really interested in it. It makes our class a lot of fun because we are able to do what we love with some of our best friends.”
When it comes to financial operations, she has countless ideas that she hopes can improve the publication as a whole.
Aayana Baid, 2024-25 Senior Copy Editor
Copy editors are tasked with maintaining the high writing quality of The Panther at all times; they must find minute errors in stories and correct them. Baid takes over the difficult role of overseeing and teaching this team of editors while also reading The Panther’s stories.
“I am most excited to build a strong team of copy editors and show them tips and tricks that will guide them throughout the year,” Baid said. “I look forward to building strong bonds with the entire publication, including old and new staffers.”
As Baid takes over the main writing component of The Panther, she will work closely with the rest of the new leadership to ensure quality is met at all times along with increasing the publication’s reach and readership.
“My biggest goal for next year is to reach new corners of the school that we haven’t touched before and inspire new students and teachers to read our works,” Baid said.
Mia Shields, 2024-25 Senior Design Editor
As one of the most difficult but crucial parts of the paper, Shields is tasked with putting together the entire print issue and assigning designers to both the online and print aspects of the publication.
“I’m super excited to put my own creative twist on The Panther’s design section and help teach a new generation of designers,” Shields said. “I’m excited to help carry the tradition of The Panther and watch it thrive.”
As a member of the design team for two years, Shields has a lot of experience with platforms such as Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop and Canva.
“This is my second year on design and I’ve learned so much about this section throughout my time on the Panther. I believe that the time I’ve put in to learn new skills has made me qualified to take over as Senior Design,” Shields said.
The outgoing leadership team is confident that Shields will be able to effectively use her skills to lead the Panther in all design aspects.
Emilia Haus, 2024-25 Senior Photo Editor
Haus has one year of experience as Senior Multimedia Editor and old leadership knows that she will use this experience to expand her influence even further. Taking on a new position on leadership next year, as Senior Photo Editor, Haus will oversee The Panther’s visual aspects for both online and print.
“I’m qualified for this position because I was Senior Multimedia editor this year, and a photo editor the year before. Besides just positions, I feel that I am a great communicator and team player,” Haus said.
For the next year, Haus hopes to increase the overall quality of the paper for both the online and print cycles.
“I’m most excited to increase our creativity, quality and hopefully try new styles in the online and print publications,” Haus said. “I look forward to making the most out of my senior year and doing my part to increase the quality of our print and online cycles.”
Maddie Volpe, 2024-225 Senior Video Editor
Video is the newest section of The Panther. Last year, the position of Senior Multimedia included videography, but this year, outgoing leadership decided to split this aspect. Leading the first-ever video team, Volpe shows promising skills in organizing and leading the video section of the paper.
“I feel qualified for the position as Senior Video Editor because of my experience in the video section for the past two years and helping the section flourish overall,” Volpe said.
With two years of experience on the video team and on the paper, Volpe looks forward to creating a more professional look for the publication during her leadership tenure.
“I’m super excited to expand the video section of The Panther next year, hoping to make it more journalistic and professional,” Volpe said. “I also hope that we are able to expand our viewership in the videos published.”
