It was in August of 2019 that she first sat in Mr. Fagen’s classroom. A shy freshman, who didn’t know that she would soon blossom into the leader of the classroom within a few years. Even though the year only lasted for 2 months due to the COVID-19 lockdown, every editor that year knew that she had endless potential. 

     Last year’s CHAT Editor-in-Chief, Nicole Llanes, reflected on her friendship with Rebecca and the impact of it. “I became close to Rebecca in my senior year once I became editor-in-chief. Without her, I would’ve most likely gone crazy,” she said.  “She helped me more than imaginable and showed me how much she was capable of. I just knew she’d be an amazing editor and keep things up once I left, and that she has done.”

   Rebecca was accepted to Brown University on March 15th. All of her hard work and dedication to everything she put her mind to shined through the acceptance letter. Rebecca single-handedly managed the CHAT Newspaper while dealing with the adversity of the college admissions process. Every day, Rebecca put her love and effort into the CHAT Newspaper, regardless of what was affecting her in her daily life. She prioritized her classmates, as she reached out to everyone making sure that they were comfortable. 

   During the CHAT’s annual Florida Scholastic Press Association field trip, Rebecca didn’t care about winning. She didn’t care about who brought home the most awards. She made sure that everyone was satisfied with their groups, and checked up on everyone, asking if they had fun in every workshop they attended. Similarly, with the newsroom, Rebecca cared about her writers and made sure that everyone was writing for sections that they love. 

   Memorable moments such as the introduction of Rebecca vs. Rebekah have sparked a monumental for the CHAT Newspaper. The comparison of sides in a heated debate on a given topic was battled by Rebekah and Rebecca. However, just like the rest of the CHAT Newspaper, they were family. “Even though we are always supposed to be on different sides of the story,” Rebekah said. “We were too similar and we had the same opinions on everything. It was hard to be on the opposing side of someone who I just loved so much, and looked up to sincerely.” 

Rebecca held all of the qualities of a leader. She did not get too distracted by the social and fun aspects of the newspaper, she was also one of the CHAT’s best writers. Not only did she take home an honorable mention during her time at FSPA, but she also has written stories like “Forget What the Adults Say: College Isn’t Necessary for Success”, an opinions story that carried the CHAT leaderboard for almost two years. “We were flooded with comments after that story,” Nicole said. “That’s when we knew she was going to be one of the best writers in CHAT history. It’s stories like those that kept the traffic flowing on our website.” 

  Although the CHAT Newspaper will miss Rebecca sincerely, the staff knows that she will continue to succeed in life and will watch her from afar. And although she will no longer be a jaguar, she has blossomed into a bear and is ready to carry on her legacy.