Ethan Qin ’26 is the outgoing 115th Editor-in-Chief of The Flat Hat. He apologizes in advance to the reader for his very much “stream of consciousness” farewell piece; he is on a deadline after all. He’s grateful for the opportunity to serve as Editor-in-Chief and will be a forever reader of The Flat Hat.
The views expressed in the article are the author’s own.
It seems quite difficult to take an entire year of reporting, editing and unforgettable memories, and endeavor to condense it into a farewell piece. Yet, here I am Sunday night before production staring at the blank Google doc in front of me (as I’ve done almost every time I’ve written in my four years on staff) to hopefully do that very thing.
As I stare down the daunting task of writing my last ever article as Editor-in-Chief of The Flat Hat, I can’t help but reminisce on my term this past year. Lulu Dawes ’23, one of the past Editors-in-Chief I served under, stated in her farewell that during her term, she often thought about what she’d write in her own outgoing piece. I can’t say the same for myself — it feels like almost yesterday when I was reading my predecessor, Anna Arnsberger’s ’25 farewell article in my first production as EiC exactly a year ago.
For me, I suppose that’s a sign of how much I loved being EiC. Between the long production nights, texting my editors, media council meetings and asking “how much is the kerning at?” (far too much), I never really got the opportunity to think about it ending. I almost prefer it that way — enjoying the role until the very last day.
“Life is nothing but a series of choices” is a notion I think about a lot, because there was a moment in Nov. 2022 where everything could have gone differently.
Before I get to that, some context is important. The student newspaper at my high school, The Hawk Talk, was a revelation for me at that time. I became enthralled with journalism and creating page layouts in InDesign. I was addicted. As the years went by, my interest only grew and the natural next step was to become EiC my senior year. At the same time, I was applying for colleges, and Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism became my dream. As I visited their campus the summer before senior year, I fell in love with the school and began to imagine my life there.
Well, first off, I didn’t get picked for one of the five EiC positions. Shortly after, I also got rejected from Northwestern. In what felt like my world ending, it seemed as if my dreams of pursuing journalism just weren’t meant to be. So, I pivoted.
The College of William and Mary was one of the only schools that accepted me, and upon that first semester I realized what a home this school became. At the Student Organizations and Activities Fair during orientation, I stumbled upon The Flat Hat’s table. I put my name on the email list and went to an info session. I’m thankful for Lulu and her kindness that first semester — she looked out for me because we went to the same high school.
As an intern, I was quite unsure of whether I actually wanted to join staff. The events that transpired during my senior year of high school left a bad taste around my feelings toward journalism. This certainly played a part in my general indifference toward doing the three intern projects.
Flash forward to Nov. 2022, just a couple days before the deadline to submit intern projects — I still needed to do two. I remember thinking it could be so easy to blow this off and just not do it. I mean, what would I be missing? Did I even like journalism anymore?
I eventually mustered up the effort to text Jake Forbes ’24, who was the sports editor at the time, and inform him of my predicament. Without hesitation, he told me to meet him at Kaplan Arena that evening so we could cover a basketball game. I remember the whole experience vividly and thinking at the time what a cool experience this was: sitting courtside at a game, and even having the chance to interview players and coaches at the end.
Walking away from that game, I knew with absolute certainty that I wanted to join the staff, and I became one of the sports editors next year.
It seems like a lifetime ago that I was sports editor.
As I spent more time on staff, I think my motivations and perceptions of what we do at The Flat Hat changed greatly. When I was a freshman, I was just happy with the opportunity to go to sports games, sit courtside and get some free food at the media suite. However, the more I wrote, my mentality toward the paper changed. My first significant piece was profiling a new club on campus called the Black Student-Athlete Alliance. While writing this, I began to realize that what we report on matters.
As 113th EiC Molly Parks ’24 wrote in her farewell piece, The Flat Hat has the ability to affect individuals’ lives, document the history of this campus and tell the real stories of those who affect change at the College. It may seem obvious that a student newspaper’s purpose is to uplift the voices of students, but it’s important that we remind ourselves of that. Because through scrutiny and fallback, it sometimes may be unclear the reason that we do all of this. Institutional memory is somewhat cyclical in that, every four years, new students will arrive on campus unaware of what happened before them. The Flat Hat serves in that all-important role of record keeping, holding the school accountable and starting difficult conversations. And in my eyes, there’s truly no one better for this job than the people at The Flat Hat. It is one of the most special things to be a part of a group of people aligned under the same mission.
The past EiCs I served under in Anna, Molly and Lulu deserve so much credit in shaping the person and leader I am today. Anna taught me so much about the hard work and care that goes into being EiC. I’m so grateful for her mentorship and am lucky to have her as my friend. Molly, thank you for your kindness and support in my time on staff. I still crack up thinking about our random trips to Trader Joe’s and the basketball game. Lulu, thank you so much for your advice and picking up random midnight FaceTime calls during production night about invisible boxes on InDesign. I truly could not have done this without you all.
As I end this chapter in my college experience, I’m incredibly proud to follow Mona Garimella ’27 in her journey as the 116th Editor-in-Chief of The Flat Hat. Mona has already proven to be a very thoughtful and compassionate leader as managing editor, and will continue to provide a creative and warm energy to leading the paper. She is infinitely qualified and I can’t wait to see what she accomplishes.
Mona’s exec team is full of passionate and hard working individuals. Maddie Mohamadi ’27 will serve as managing editor. Maddie is truly one of the most driven people I know and was a phenomenal operations coordinator last year. I’m certain she will bring her proven reliability and work ethic to her new role in managing. Megan Rudacille ’27 will return as executive editor, coming off of a fantastic year in the role. I will be following her as she continues to innovate the variety and opinion sections. Both Maddie and Megan were hugely important members of my exec this past year and I’m so happy that they will be there to support Mona this year. Molly Martin ’27 and Ben McLoughlin ’28 will serve as co-operations coordinators. Molly is one of the brightest people I know, and I have no doubt her work ethic and dependability will shine throughout the intern program. Ben is one of the most charismatic people I’ve met, and his ability to strike up a conversation with anyone will be an incredible addition to the operations coordinator position. Digital media editor Kylie Totten ’28 has been a super photos editor and I have no doubt she’ll bring creativity and dedication to her new role. Copy chief Nate Ross ’28 will serve in the role, which is part of exec for the first time, and I’m confident he’ll find success in the role with his light-hearted personality and commitment to the paper.
Liam Glavin ’27, Robin Perdue ’28 and Naman Mishra ’29 will serve as an effective team of news editors this year. Liam and Robin will carry over their good work done as associate editors, while Naman will bring a fresh perspective just finishing the intern program. Chief staff writer Madigan Webb ’28 will serve as an integral piece to the section, lending her wealth of writing experience to the team.
The sports desk will see two fresh faces in Cara King ’29 and Jacob Tobman ’29. Both editors have recently arrived from the intern program, and I have no doubt they will continue their amazing work as sports editors. Chief sports writer Westley Jacanin ’27 will provide a boost in writing production following a promising year as an associate editor.
Andrew Henrickson ’27 will serve as the sole data editor. I’m excited to follow his work this year — I’m certain he’ll build on his already promising resume of data articles.
Abby Borgeson ’28 returns as variety editor and is joined by newcomer DevYani Thakare ’28. Abby has impressed everyone with her incredible work ethic and ability to finish her page in a remarkably quick fashion. DevYani will bring a fresh perspective and diligence to the variety editor position, and I’m excited to see what she accomplishes this year. Abby Furcy ’27 will serve as chief features writer, and I’m confident she’ll continue her history of producing thought-provoking and well-written articles in this new role.
The opinions section will host two new editors in Michael Gabriel ’28 and Ava Gravina ’28. Michael arrives from the graphics section in an unorthodox move. However, if you’re lucky enough to know Michael, then it makes perfect sense. Ava is fresh from the intern program and will utilize her creativity and passion for opinions. Chief opinions writer Nora Yoon ’27 writes some of the most interesting and eloquently written opinion pieces I’ve read. I look forward to reading more of their work this upcoming year.
The newly formed audio/visual section will have three editors in Liam McMahon ’27, Eric Sohn ’27 and Kenza Houhou ’28. Each of them are returning staff members and will bring a wealth of experience to the section. This trio are all incredibly talented in their own right and will help The Flat Hat become more immersed in digital media journalism.
Kimberly McCann ’28 returns as the sole photos editor. She has impressed everyone with her dedication and commitment to the role. Photos is sometimes a thankless job, and she carries it out with grace.
Filling out the rest of our digital media sections are a few brand new section editors: social media editors Betty Yemane ’28 and Evie Corr ’29, graphics editors Isabel Volden ’28 and Gretta Anderson ’28, as well as our newest added position to staff — games editor Maeve Meyer ’29. Each of these editors will bring a fresh perspective to the table and I’m excited to see what they accomplish this year.
I also want to take the time to shout out our copy editors. A good copy team is the backbone of any good newspaper and we have one of the best. Copy editors Emma Newill ’27, Adelyn Skerik ’28, Clare Pacella ’28, Eden Leavey ’28, Elise Whitfield ’28, Irene Straw ’28, Jonathan Larkin ’28, Julia Peavey ’28, Lorelei Kelley ’28, Sophia Paradowski ’28, Kelsea Smith ’29, Kreilys Garcia Flores ’29, Lindsay Luberecki ’29 and Ruby Trainor ’29 will make up this all star team.
Ombudsman Ethan Auclair ’28 will help Mona deal with whatever may come up this year. Following his work as an associate the previous year, I’m confident Ethan will continue his diligent watch of the paper. James Abruzzo ’28 will serve as business manager and look to help the paper with bringing in advertisements. Sam Harrington ’27 returns as webmaster. Sam was a huge help this past year with all things website related. I know he’ll be a useful resource to Mona in the future.
This 2026 staff is full of promising student journalists who I know are eager to make their mark on this paper. I have the utmost confidence in their ability and I’m so incredibly excited to follow along in each of their journeys. With that being said, I’d like to take the time to show appreciation for those staff members also entering retirement with me this semester.
Thank you to Alexandra Nakamitsu ’26 for her tenure as digital media editor last year. Alex has done so much in progressing the paper’s production in digital media and has left a definitive legacy for those next up to follow. More importantly, she is a close friend that I’m glad to have as we both end our time on staff. Another staff member who more than deserves her flowers is Alisha Khodabocus ’26, whose tenure as copy chief will be one to remember. She handled a sizable copy team and oversaw the training of copy editors for fact checking. Alisha is a dedicated professional, and I’m so grateful to have worked with her this past year. Former business manager Daniel Choi ’26 is one of the most genuine people I’ve ever met. I think it’s truly special for someone to come into an organization and touch the hearts of everyone in it, but he makes it look easy. His hard work in the role will be remembered, and I look forward to hitting the links with him soon.
Mollie Shiflett ’26 concludes her third year as opinions editor, and I applaud her dedication and commitment to the role. She is the true definition of a veteran, and the opinions section has certainly benefitted from her experience. Max Grill ’26 and Avi Joshi ’26 deserve credit for some of my favorite production night memories. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to get to work with them throughout these years, and I still laugh thinking about those late Monday nights from a couple years ago. Charles Vaughn ’26 might be the most talented sports journalist I’ve ever met. He continues to impress me even when I thought I already saw his best. It’s such a shame that the paper only got one year with him, but that year alone has set a standard for all future sports editors. Abhayprad Jha ’26 certainly saw a renaissance in the data section, and I’m incredibly proud of his work in creating data pages and producing thought-provoking articles. Taiga Lewis ’26 led a large growth in the videos section and has produced some phenomenal videos in his time on staff. He will leave the paper with a high standard of what video journalism should look like at The Flat Hat. The paper’s social media pages were lucky enough to be run by the capable and steady hands of Karis Koutsourelakis ’26 and Audrey Gunnlaugssonn ’26. We’ve seen so much growth on our Instagram with getting verified and the new graphic, and all the credit goes to you guys.
There is no journalism major here at the College. In many ways, being a part of The Flat Hat is the best way to promote journalism on this campus. The work that is done at The Flat Hat is sometimes unimaginable given the fact that we’re all students offering up what limited free time we have to produce this paper for no compensation. Despite this, I cannot imagine spending my four years at this school doing anything else.
Thank you to everyone that I’ve worked with during my time on staff, it has been an honor and pleasure to be a part of this amazing organization. I’m so incredibly proud of all that we accomplished this past year, and it’s the accumulation of everyone’s hard work and effort. Being on staff and EiC last year has been the experience of my life. While I’m sad to say goodbye, I look at this year’s staff with eager excitement over what they can achieve.
Beginnings often hide themselves in ends …
Stabilitas et fides,
Ethan
