LAUREN CEBALLOS / EDITOR IN CHIEF

Have you ever received a love letter? If you have, you would know that it means far beyond what any text message could, even if the two are verbatim. The USD Vista is a love letter to the future from the past. It is a time capsule –  a time machine.

We’re all editors, or at least our own, in some aspects. We have the power to analyze something and work to make it better as time goes on.  This is where  I  come  in.  I  am  not someone with all the answers. Instead, I am someone who currently holds this title and  I have a goal of improving and protecting something so special that my predecessors have built. 

In fact, if you ask my staff, they would say that I am full of questions. I think it is the unlimited supply of curiosity that has created and that will sustain The USD Vista. All this to say that I am an editor and I have been so lucky to contribute to The USD Vista out of all of the publications under the sun. 

While it may seem trivial compared to The Washington Post, The New York Times or whatever other sources you absorb your news from, as I look to pursue a career in journalism, I know that the following newsrooms will  be  incomparable  to  SLP  403B.   SLP   403B   has   seen tears, breakdowns, first-time pitches, heard double entendres, witnessed laughing turn to tears, celebrated birthdays, congratulated stress balls after successful tests, consoled us post life-altering changes, birthed intellectual conversations, delusional laughter, stressful snapping and so much more.

It has made the occasional 8 and 16-pagers, but most notably weekly editions of 12-paged, 11×17 tabloids that turn yellow and curl at the edges on the walls within it and the walls of the homes of our avid readers. 

It has made a curious, intimidated Torero into an experienced    and    seasoned   human   being   with    heart,   attention to detail and a wider scope of the world time and time again.

It brings people through the  door.   Whether   it   is   for  a one-time meet and greet, the occasional date on Tuesday at 12:30 p.m., a home for the consistent “where else  would  I  be” try  hards  and  for all of the people in between, the newsroom has an open invitation that goes out to the USD community as a whole. It has received awards, sent  editors  to  top publications, created love stories and so much more.

SLP   403B   continuously  sends senior  classes  out,  but  it forms  a   tie  so  strong  that  it  always brings them back. Whether it be a text from a former staff member to current students awarded Work Service Awards, a scroll through newsroom pictures, a deep dive into the archives or a visit to the room itself, it is a place that cannot be left behind.

There is so much that the newsroom has created. From current event awareness to satirical crosswords or comics and articles that are strongly opinionated to quick fact sidebars along with the dreaded occasional corrections, The USD Vista is a room with history on its walls, details in its pages and a spirit that lives on in everyone who leaves the room — drawing visitors,  veterans  and  critics  alike.

This room would not matter, however, without the people within it and the hard work that moves it.  

To our writers, we always say thank you for writing and we mean it… it is the time that you take that makes this product and this place so special. 

From the receiving end of both her critiques and praise, Gina Lew has done everything that I want to do and is a woman who exemplifies everything that I want to become. Thank you for your help, advocacy and guidance throughout my four years. I have appreciated it more than you know. Gina, there are many things I have learned from you, but there are two that I will hold especially  close.  I  will  always  fight  the good fight and I will always, without  a doubt, Fight On.

Byron, PhD, or Dr. Byron, as we say in the newsroom, thank you so much for your guidance, help and enthusiastic spirit. It has been great to get to work with you this year.

Dr. Chung, I have appreciated your support and spirit more and more as our time together has continued.

Anjali, Emma and Nikki, there is a pit in my stomach and water in my eyes as I think about the idea of having to say goodbye to the grit, hard work, support, laughs and love that you have each brought to this room and group and into my life. 

Anjali, it is so special to have  started  this  journey  with  you.  I  am  so  thankful  to  have  grown  and learned together throughout the four years. From the first pitch, to our last production, thanks for being there. I can’t wait to hear about all the people who line up to have coffee chats with you. 

Emma Pirhala, from meeting you on Pre-O to seeing how efficiently and swiftly you can work in the newsroom, you have grown into all of your positions and made them your own. It has been so special to watch you grow. Also, you won  awards — in case you forgot.

Nikki…  I remember the day we met in Camino. From unmasking the mascot to joining exec at record speed, you found The Vista and filled the missing piece. The newsroom would not be the same without your quippy comments and stark humor.

You are all so important and special to me in your own ways and none of this would be possible without all of your intricacies, questions, specialties and curiosities, so thank you for sharing all of it with us.

Priya, Caden, David and Amelie, thank you for writing, laying out pages and sacrificing your Mondays and Tuesdays for something we all love and want so much. No one knows the amount of hours you all put in. Thank you for doing thankless work and for bringing  your  A-game  every time. 

Alex, Owen, Connor, Julianna, Sophie, O’Connell, Mackenzie, Sands, Max, Mae, Gabe and Calla, we have loved and appreciated all of your work. You all help make this possible and make the newsroom even more special.

Kyra, Anahi, Hailey, Lucas Cherry, Federica, Lalita, Koa and Emma, we could not have done it without your help. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.

Riley Rains, thank you for everything always. You are a  powerhouse  and  already excelling  in  your  future  role. I am so proud of the woman that you are and I am learning from you every  day.  I  cannot  wait  to  see all that you do and we all know that this  is  a  perfect  fit.  Yay,  Riley.

As  the  world  turns  to  the boxes in our hands, I encourage you to put your phone down and pick up a paper. You  won’t  need  blue-light glasses or a charger to read The USD Vista, and that is  one  of  my  favorite  parts.

This is a place where students chose to be. A place where the lights go out because we are working so late. And a place where the staff continues to work when the lights go out. 

The USD Vista is one of those things that you can never fully understand  unless  you’re  in  it,  so  if  your  curiosity  is sparked… follow it. Find it. Try it. Advocate for yourself in the newsroom.

There is something to be said about the stories you remember, but there is even more to be said about the stories that you choose to tell. Thank you for letting us tell ours and from the bottom of my heart, thank you for trusting me to live mine.

The newsroom has become a place for conquering fears, a safe haven and a group that pushes us all to be better. It is also the place my USD ID card will miss having access to the most. When I come back to visit USD, I will look through the glass portions of the door that sit above and below the “Shut down your computers” and “Lock the door” signs that have been there since my freshman year, and I’ll see a wall covered in history and a room filled with passion, friendship and some of my favorite memories at USD. Thank you to The USD Vista. I suppose this is my love letter to you.

Thank you to the staff for writing & thank you all for reading, or playing the crossword,

Lauren Ceballos

Editor-in-Chief

Photo courtesy of Mia Harmon