The past two years have been a rollercoaster for seniors due to the pandemic. The classes of ‘20 and ‘21 have both been deeply affected by the impacts COVID-19 has had on our culture as a society and also as a school. Throughout all of this, The Publishing Haus has been a pillar of facts and honest student voices, and the seniors who led the newspaper played a huge part in that. In this article, you’ll hear from the former online creative director and print creative director from The Publishing Haus. The experiences these alumni had at Northwest and the skills they learned from being on the paper shaped their attitudes and resilience in the difficult months (and years) after graduation.
After graduating via Youtube livestream, Greta H. ‘20 started off on her gap year, working at a marketing/creative consulting firm, and living on several farms in Hawaii. Greta was the creative print director for The Publishing Haus and said that her time on the paper taught her a lot about following strict deadlines as well as working in collaboration with others in the form of peer editing. Greta has now entered her first year at Princeton and says that she’s very grateful to be having a somewhat normal college experience that is not too harshly affected by COVID-19. While she is having fun, she said that she misses the tight-knit community at Northwest, and the community that we have built here. In her time on the paper Greta wrote some amazing stories, but above all is the work she did for the print papers. She says that Her favorite part of being on The Publishing Haus was publishing day. She told me that she “loved seeing the work we had been doing appear in such a complete final project, one that represented the staff as a whole.” We at The Publishing Haus could not agree more. Greta is now a part of a fashion publication at Princeton, and we know we will see great things from her in the coming years.
Entering his second year at NYU, Jarod P. ‘20, the former creative online director for The Publishing Haus, has been working as a technical assistant in the photography department at NYU. While he stated that last year was hard due to COVID-related restrictions and weirdness, this year has been much better for him. Jarod is studying in the Department of Photography and Imaging, and when he’s not attending classes he’s usually wandering around the Village, thrifting, trying new restaurants, or taking photos. At NYU Jarod is using a lot of the same skills he picked up while writing for The Publishing Haus in his photography classes. He says the engagement with the Northwest community that came along with being on the paper was one of his favorite things about Northwest, in addition to the close community. One thing that he misses the most is being able to feel so connected to his peers. He says that he “definitely took that aspect of Northwest for granted.” You can check out Jarod’s articles from past years on things like caffeine use at Northwest and the tragic death of one of the school chickens in The Publishing Haus archive.
The time that all of these graduates had at Northwest both shaped them into the people they are today, and taught them valuable lessons. After hearing all about the amazing experiences Jarod and Greta have had since graduating from Northwest, I asked them all what advice they would give to their freshman-year selves. Greta says that her biggest piece of wisdom for high schoolers to remember is to calm down, and take each moment as it is. She tells us to “Savor that team you’re a part of, go have a chat with that teacher you love, go give your friends a hug, and know that everything will truly work itself out in the end.” Jarod’s advice is very similar. He says “I would tell myself to focus more on the present moment. I think that as a high schooler I was really excited to leave home, meet new people, and explore a lot, which is of course all great, but I think that sometimes in my excitement for the future, I sacrificed some of my appreciation for certain things that I now miss a lot.” I know we can all take this advice and let it help us revel in our years here at Northwest. One thing that rings true time and time again is how much former students miss Northwest once they leave, and the regret they have for taking aspects of it for granted.
Every year Northwest, and especially The Publishing Haus, feels the combined emotions of happiness and loss when the end of the school year comes around, but knowing that our alumni are happy and thriving in their new environments is wonderful to see. Our school will continue to grow and change but through that, all of us on the paper hope students will turn to The Publishing Haus to help them remember what matters most: honesty and the feelings of students. We hope to bring you great things this year. I’d also like to say a big thank you to Greta and Jarod for letting me interview them for this article!
