Over the years the CHAT newspaper has grown in staff and content, but most notably with its digital features. Each graphic, photo, or video cannot happen on its own without a hardworking team. This past year, the CHAT was fortunate to add its very first Editor-In-Chief to the digital department. Senior Sophia Lopez, running the show, was not only able to advance this department even more but also make an everlasting impact on this class. 
Joining the newspaper her sophomore year has allowed Lopez to slowly get out of her comfort zone and gain more confidence in herself. Being part of Mr. Fagen’s journalism class allowed Lopez to have some writing experience, but she still seemed clueless entering her first year in the CHAT. It also didn’t help that “I got back to normal in-person school after being online for a year because of COVID.” The adjustments were a challenge, but the newspaper allowed Lopez to open herself up, make connections, and meet new people both in and outside of her class.
Fast forward to being a features editor in her junior year, Lopez was able to gain experience with leadership and maintaining her work. Two important qualities an editor needs to obtain to run a class. Lopez has loved writing stories over the years, but something about capturing moments through pictures was what called Lopez’s name. Her junior year was when she started to multitask between the two classes, and she wanted to ensure that she had a close relationship with the staff. Regardless of what part of the CHAT Lopez was working for, she always emphasized that “we are supposed to inform people about what is happening in our school.” She later brought that same mentality to the digital department once she became the Editor-In-Chief.
“Last year was when it was announced that I was going to be Editor-In-Chief and I think it was a monumental moment for me because I was like wow all my hard work has finally paid off,” she explains. The beginning of the year was a very chaotic and hard time for Lopez as “I had to remake an entire class from scratch because the senior class from the digital department took up the majority of the previous class.” Since many of the members were underclassmen, Lopez was very busy with her class, making different announcements and trying to get the system running. Lopez and many of the other seniors even had to start thinking outside of the box for the stories and events to be covered more easily. Eventually, some of the section editors took groups of kids out to experiment with photography, lighting, social media, and more so they could then be put to work right away. Well, trying to understand her class and the new role she took on, Lopez tried to create a balance for the class so no one would have to feel pressured to do something they were not comfortable with doing yet.
After a long first semester, Lopez was very grateful to have Mr. Foreman and such a dedicated senior team. She quickly realized that to overcome any obstacles she just needed to take it day by day and plan all her ideas out. Having small meetings to talk to everyone was a crucial part of many of the class periods since the digital department wanted to focus on including all the details that come with each photo, video, and graphic. “I had to divide myself into different little pieces and make sure I was the one holding the newspaper together,” Lopez exclaims.
As her last year for the CHAT was slowly coming to an end, Lopez realized how rewarding it had been to be a part of such an amazing crew. “People in my class have come up to me and told me that my enthusiasm and my passion for this class has made it their favorite class,” she says wholeheartedly. Lopez has been so grateful to see the passion that many of her students have had for this class and also the exponential amount of growth that all of them have also had over the years. The newspaper for Lopez has also been a place where she has been able to make a lot of unforgettable memories. “I loved FSPA so much this year,” Lopez mentions. Being able to bond with the underclassmen also really allowed her to get to know her classmates on another level. Florida Scholastic Press Association, in general, has been one of the many traditions the CHAT does, so going for one last time and also winning so many awards was very monumental for Lopez.
With starting her fall semester of college at FIU and majoring in computer science, Lopez is ready to start and experience a new chapter of her life. Although she will miss everything about her fourth-period class, she feels that she left a good foundation for the future digital department, so it is up to the staff to keep on doing great things. As she glides down the C building hallway for one of the last times, it will always remind Editor-In-Chief Sophia Lopez how “I greatly enjoyed my time with the CHAT. It was a stamp in my high school career.”
