As graduation hastily approaches, so does a bittersweet farewell to four of The Mirror’s staff members. These talented students have brought irreplaceable passion and contributions to The Mirror, which has helped build the newsite into what it is today.
Sarah Stege, Editor-In-Chief
Sarah Stege, The Mirror’s editor-in-chief for the last three semesters, is graduating with a double major in both creative and professional writing this semester. She has contributed to The Mirror in countless ways, but most prominently in the ways she teaches and guides others with such care.
At the beginning of her junior year, Stege enrolled in The Mirror and worked as a staff reporter, writing brilliant feature stories about Lakeland professors to articles highlighting important campus resources. Her dedication and love for writing were noticed by the faculty advisor for The Mirror, Dr. Aimee Burns-Boisvert, who offered her the opportunity of working as editor-in-chief, which she proudly and happily accepted.
During her time as editor-in-chief, Stege enjoyed writing articles on Lakeland professors’ pets like Terri Luecke’s dog and Dr. Burns-Boisvert’s cat. She mentioned that out of all the articles she had written, her favorite was “Behind every strong woman is a cat: Meet Dr. Burns-Boisvert’s” due to their shared passion for felines.
When she is not working on newswriting, Stege can be found drawing animals with her micron pens. Her portraits vary from “both serious pet portraits [to] ridiculous meme-quality animal doodles,” and she loves making people smile or laugh by gifting these drawings to them.
Stege will attend the University of Idaho this fall, where she will be earning her Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing. Her time there is fully funded through a teaching assistantship, and she will be teaching two sections of first-year composition each semester. After she graduates with her master’s degree, Stege hopes to work for a publishing company or possibly teach college writing as a professor.
She reflects on her time in The Mirror by describing how grateful she is for the ways the course has helped her grow. Stege expresses that she was “blessed to know all the writers and staff members” and that her goal as editor-in-chief was “to find ways to strengthen the culture of The Mirror.” She continues by mentioning that “the people who are part of it made a huge difference: Dr. Burns-Boisvert’s encouragement and kindness, the writers’ enthusiasm for their articles and everyone’s support of each other.”
Her advice for future members of The Mirror is to make the most of the experience. “Push yourself to learn something from every article, to increase your professionalism and to contribute to the culture of The Mirror and Lakeland as a whole. The Mirror is about the stories of Lakeland’s people, which is a huge deal.” Stege concluded by saying that she “cannot wait to read the stories next semester’s staff covers!”
Jenna Winge, Staff Editor
The next graduating senior, Jenna Winge, has also been a part of The Mirror since the beginning of her junior year. Similarly to Stege, Winge began as a staff reporter for The Mirror, writing about campus events as well as featuring both students and professors alike. She took on the staff editor position her second semester in The Mirror and has held it ever since.
While reflecting on her time in The Mirror, Winge recalls her favorite piece, “Disappearing like an anglerfish: Jodie Mortag’s sabbatical.” This article stuck out to her the most because she was able to interview and write about someone she looked up to during her time at Lakeland. Mortag had influenced Winge to change her major from business administration to professional writing and had given Winge a new perspective on her career goals.
Winge continued by reflecting on her favorite memories in The Miror, mentioning how much she loves editing and how “analyzing articles and providing feedback has been so fun.” She remembers telling her mom countless times that she “loves her job” and that she just loves the people too. “Dr. Burns-Boisvert has really brought so much life into The Mirror. Sarah has been the most incredible editor-in-chief. The staff really just has worked so well together.”
Currently, Winge’s plans for after graduating involve returning to her home in Illinois and job searching for opportunities in the area. She hopes to score an editing job similar to the one she had in The Mirror, stating that “this position has really helped me to realize what I’m good at and passionate about.” “Working on The Mirror has been a life-changing experience for me. If I hadn’t spent time writing and editing for The Mirror, my future career goals and plans would look a lot different.”
For future Mirror members, Winge wishes to add: “As a senior, I’ll say just have fun with it and learn from it. We all make mistakes in The Mirror, so just let yourself grow from them. As story editor, don’t use Oxford commas and follow AP Style headline capitalization rules. As someone that’s been with The Mirror as long as I have, email all of the staff about updates on your articles not just the editor-in-chief or Dr. Burns-Boisvert.”
Jeremy Kobe, Staff Reporter
For three semesters, Jeremy Kobe has been a staff reporter for The Mirror, writing mainly features focusing on important people around Lakeland’s campus. From student icons like the voice of the Muskies, Sam Marchant, to the well renown director of external relations, David Gallianetti or G-Force, Kobe has written about every corner of Lakeland.
He joined The Mirror because he has always enjoyed writing and sharing stories that bring people together. This passion is showcased in his articles relating to sports and campus events, as he believes that both of these topics are more than just games or events.
Looking back on the articles he has written for The Mirror, Kobe’s favorite is “Monroe Hobbs: The power behind the Muskies.” Hobbs, a Lakeland football player and fellow teammate to Kobe, is a major student figure on campus who influenced many students to live their college lives to the fullest. Kobe wrote the article to provide Hobbs with “the recognition he deserves for being such a positive influence on those around him.”
Aside from his work on The Mirror, Kobe enjoys skiing, camping and travelling with his family and friends. He has also been a part of the Lakeland football team for the entirety of his college career. Kobe has taken photos for The Mirror at sporting and campus events as well.
Kobe has already accepted a Service Advisor position at Mercedes Benz in Milwaukee, that will begin once he moves back home after graduation. He hopes to use this position as an opportunity to grow and one day become a salesperson. Post-graduation, Kobe is going to continue looking for new challenges and new experiences.
Some advice that Kobe has provided for future The Mirror members is to “get a start on [your articles] early because otherwise [the workload] is going to pile up on you like a 3-credit course.”
Savannah Szalanski, Staff Reporter
The staff was lucky to include the Student Government President, Savannah Szalanski, as a staff reporter for two semesters. Being one of the most active members of Lakeland’s community, Szalanski provided fresh and new perspectives to the news site by writing articles that encapsulated her diverse involvement around campus.
Her articles reached from features on both students and faculty to helping students find affordable shopping options in the local area. But out of all the articles she wrote for The Mirror, the one she is most proud of is her feature, “From Albania to Lakeland: Bora Ajdini.” For Szalanski, the article focuses on an important figure in her life who “[inspired her] to lead an involved campus life and career at Lakeland.”
Although Szalanski has little free time due to her prominence in Lakeland’s community, she finds herself crocheting and crafting when she has some downtime to herself. But that hobby has also found its way into her college life, as she is also a part of Yarn Club on campus.
After graduation, Szalanski will attend Marquette University to obtain their Medical Laboratory Science Certification. With this certification, she hopes to one day become a medical labratory scientist or medical technologist.
For most writers, it is difficult to choose an article topic that does not interest them, but Szalanski encourages newcomers to “take risks with your articles and to take a few opportunities to write about the articles you might not have picked originally.” She discusses her article, “Anglerfish to spade fish: Jodie Mortag’s sabbatical recap,” and how it was one of the most rewarding experiences she got out of The Mirror, even though she was hesitant at first to take it on.