With numerous essays, multiple tests a week, and the pressure of crafting that ideal college resume, many argue that junior year is the most difficult year of a student’s Jesuit career. While the course-load can be often difficult to manage and sometimes overwhelming, some students are able to take this time of challenge as an opportunity to flourish, both in academics and extracurriculars. One junior in particular, Aaron Stonecipher, has managed to do just that, achieving merit as Jesuit Roundup’s Editor of the Month for his outstanding performance this past November December.
Aaron humbly responded to this achievement by acknowledging that “We’ve got 6 other editors that could’ve won, so I’m very proud to have been selected for November. There can be a lot of pressure being an associate editor.”
On the topic of selecting an editor of the month, Aaron says “It’s a small process. At our staff meetings, [AP English teacher and The Roundup leader] Dr. Degen will tell us to start nominating potential candidates. Each person can then send him an email with who they think should win and why. After everyone has submitted, he and our Editor-In-Chief Andrew Frank select the editor of the month.”
When the Roundup’s members begin to think about whom they should nominate, “One looks for consistency in a person’s editing,” Aaron says. “When voting, we are to choose who has edited on their assigned days, and who has contributed besides editing, whether it be recruiting new writers, or writing a good amount of article.” Evidently, Aaron did not win this award simply by doing his job, but rather by going above and beyond in his position as junior associate editor.
It does not come as a surprise that Aaron was chosen, once one knows that he joined the Roundup and began writing in the spring of his sophomore year. Aaron recalls “I was in Dr. Degen’s Pre-AP English 2 class, [and] he would always try to recruit his students to write. One day, he randomly asked if I’d write an article. I agreed, and I’ve been writing ever since. I started editing the beginning of this school year because only juniors [and seniors] can be editors.” To conclude, Aaron also adds that he “enjoys writing articles” and that the Roundup is “a great way to stay in the loop at school.”
Going the extra mile to serve both the student newspaper and his school, Aaron definitely has earned his award. If you see him in the hall, make sure to congratulate Aaron Stonecipher on a job well done.
