The Tacoma Ledger says goodbye to its 2022 graduating staff
Madi Williams, Managing Editor
What a whirlwind of five years it has been since I started at UWT. I first was a student who just came and went from campus until I got an offer to work at The Ledger in 2019 and this choice changed my life. Never would I have thought that the people in this office would have such an impact on my life. Ella, who gave me the offer at the paper and pushed me to write even when it was hard and helped me through one of the worst experiences, and became my person and is now one of my cheerleaders from above. Aly, my fellow book nerd who along with Ella saw my potential and pushed me to go higher within the paper, and has been there for me through thick and thin from Cali. Madeline, Morgan, Trisha, Andrew, Nick and Koko who have made this year enjoyable and fun with stories and pictures of cats even when life got hard you all helped keep the office a happy place for me. UWT mentors (whether you know it or not) Daniel Nash, Kira King and LeAnne Laux-Bachand who have helped me in your own ways during my college experience and I would not be where I am today without the experiences I had with you.
The Ledger has been such a wonderful place to work and the learning experiences and relationships made will be remembered for life, and has made my college experience the best it could have been. To family who have been a support (even the cougars in the family) and backbone the last five years, thank you.
Even with a degree in Interdisciplinary Arts and Science and Psychology I am in that “what do I do now” phase of the college experience; hopefully that feeling does not last long. Fingers crossed for getting into the EdS degree program in School Psychology in 2023!
Morgan Morgans, Web & Layout Manager
I’m not good at writing these, so short and sweet. I’ve been with The Ledger for the last three years and have gone from News to Layout & Web Managing. Thank you Ella for emailing me while I was in Disneyland on my highschool grad trip and basically giving me this job (as a news reporter first, then letting me do layout and news, then just layout). Thank you layout for having my back this last year. Thank you Madeline and Madi for literally everything in between. In my time at UW Tacoma I have bounced around degrees and have landed on an art degree. In my own time I do costuming and lightsaber combat choreography. Recently, I have been costuming for TLT and hope I can keep doing costuming and graphic design on a professional level.
Remi Frederick, Opinion Editor
My time at The Ledger has been chaotic but also incredibly rewarding and fun. The Ledger office became a place for me to relax and enjoy the campus.
Huge thanks to Madi and Madeline, the Ledger’s managing editor and editor in chief who helped me through a lot during this year. To the rest of The Ledger staff, I can’t even begin to express how grateful I am for you guys and I cannot wait to see what such talented people do with their lives.
I’ve learned a lot from my time at The Ledger. I’ve learned how to pitch good story ideas, how to give edits and receive them which isn’t as easy as you might think and most importantly I got so much help from everyone on my writing and I can see so much improvement since the beginning of the year.
Thank you to everyone who helped me this year. I will miss you all tremendously. UWT has been a great place and I have learned so much.
Nithisha Reddy, Ad Manager
My experience with UW, Milgard School of Business and The Tacoma Ledger has been amazing. They say that “Time flies over us but leaves its shadow behind.” University has made such a huge impact in my professional and personal life. The MSBA program has equipped me with an advanced analytical and data science skill set which has led to a huge progression in my career. This place has provided numerous opportunities to explore my strengths and weaknesses which eventually led to converting my weaknesses into my strengths. I’m forever grateful and thankful for the connections, opportunities, faculty, and everyone associated with the university for giving me these wonderful memories to cherish.
The ledger team has brought the inner passion and my creative skills afloat. I learnt and explored the technicalities in publishing, content writing and advertising. Interaction with people from different backgrounds and making connections with them has made me a better person by learning from them.
Nick Patraszewski, Photographer
It’s been a long time coming for me to finally graduate, but these last few years would be nothing if it wasn’t for my coworkers and friends at The Ledger.
Working for a school newspaper had always been a dream of mine since elementary school, and finally getting the chance to do so was a dream come true. It may not have been an easy start, I only had a few months camera experience when I came on board, and our former photographer made sure I knew everything I needed to in order to keep the quality high for the paper, but being able to grow, and learn, and work alongside everyone made it the best experience of my college career.
Going into quarantine was rough, and coming out of it with a sparse handful of our previous staff was even rougher, but seeing our three M’s at the head of it, rebuilding our staff bit-by-bit, it gives me the confidence that the Ledger will remain a wonderful newspaper, no matter how many of us graduate.
And to Ella Lucente, our dear former Editor in Chief, I wasn’t lucky enough to spend a lot of time with you before you graduated, but thank you for giving me the chance to live my dream, and I hope we and the staff to follow will keep making you proud.
So long Ledger, keep reaching for the stars!
Jaida Noble, Illustrator
Working at The Ledger has allowed me to expand my artistic portfolio and shown me that a career in doing what I love is attainable. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to spend the school year giving an artistic flair to my talented colleagues’ articles with my illustrations.
Thank you to The Ledger staff for making my one and only in-person year at UWT so much fun. I am forever grateful that I got to work with such a talented, funny and down-to-earth team. For those graduating with me, I am excited to see your next steps out in the post-college or post-undergrad world. For those of you staying for the next school year, keep doing what you’re doing and I can’t wait to see where The Ledger will head in the 2022-23 school year.
P.S. So sad that the M&M&M Monthly name change never happened :(
Trisha Carandang, Page Designer
My time working for The Ledger in my senior year has been such a pleasure and it will feel weird not coming into the office to design anymore. Although I’ve only worked eight to nine months as a layout designer, The Ledger has never failed to make me feel welcomed and part of the group. Working here has left me with a lot of great memories to cherish as well as a sharpened skill that I can use as I’m off to a new adventure. This is all thanks to the amazing, talented and unique individuals that I got to work with and friends I’ve made along the way.
I’d like to thank my supervisor, Daniel Nash, for guiding me and giving me insights and words of wisdom when it comes to designing for the newspaper. I would also like to thank Madeline Hiller and Madi Williams for taking a chance and giving me the opportunity to design for The Ledger. Also, thanks for laughing at my jokes no matter how dry and dark they got. Last but not the least is my gratitude to Morgan Morgans, my layout manager who trained me and is someone who has always been so patient, understanding and graceful with my never-ending questions. Thank you for guiding me, allowing me to explore my creativity and showing me great cat photos!
The Ledger has made my senior year so memorable that it will always hold a special place in my heart. It has shaped me to become someone who is more confident in my capabilities as an individual. I hope that everyone at UWT will get to experience this during their time here. For those who are graduating with me, I am excited for your chapter and where life will take you!
Ryan Mantle, Film Critic
Leaving UWT is bittersweet as I have met some truly wonderful people here. When I first got to UWT, I was extremely anxious about my writing, but Dr. Hanneman and Dr. Sundermann never let me get down on myself. Their feedback gave me the confidence to apply to The Ledger and succeed here, and for that I want to say thank you.
While I have only been at The Tacoma Ledger for the past five months, I have had so much fun writing here. Getting paid to watch movies is easily the best job I have ever had, or probably ever will have. More than that though, it helped me learn how to have fun while writing and provided a break from the doom and gloom of history essays. The staff, particularly Madeline Hiller, Madi Williams and Josie Trueblood, all were incredibly supportive and encouraging. Daniel Nash was a positive presence, checking in with me about life in general or just chatting about old comic books. With most of these people returning next year, The Ledger is in good hands.
