Dear readers of The Roundup,
Where has the time gone? It seems like just last month that the Class of 2013 left us and The Roundup was placed in our hands. As I reflect on the past year, I can’t help but wish it would have all slowed down.
Since my sophomore year, I have been blessed with the privilege of working for The Roundup, first as a reporter, then as a Junior Associative Editor, and now as the Editor-in-Chief. For those of you who don’t know my story, I played football my freshman and sophomore years, but after suffering bilateral stress fractures in my lower back, my playing career ended. Dr. Degen, The Roundup’s moderator and my English teacher at the time, offered me the chance to write my first article on the yearbook’s use of QR codes, and that’s where it started for me.
My injury was a blessing in disguise; had I not gotten hurt, I might not be writing this letter to you all today. My tenure as Editor-in-Chief has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have had while at Jesuit; it has helped me learn more about leadership, about the importance of the spreading news of our Jesuit community, and about myself, as well.
This year has been The Roundup’s most successful year in the history of Dallas Jesuit. Although I am extremely biased, the statistics help to prove my claim. In October 2013, The Roundup set its highest monthly viewership record at 15,669 views. The prior record was 13,336 in May 2012, and that record was set by none other than those led by Editor-in-Chief Clark Durham ’12.
In addition, The Roundup set its highest daily viewership record at 2,108 views on Tuesday, October 22, 2013, whereas the previous record was only around 1,300 views. Needless to say, October 2013 was one of the most exciting months for us. When the school year started, The Roundup had 24 staff members. As of today, we currently have 52 staff members; 52! I had never imagined our organization would have grown to the size it is today, but I could not be more pleased with our growth.
Finally, my last bit of bragging will be on our success at The Dallas Morning News Journalism Day competition. For the first time in The Roundup history, we were nominated finalist in the Best Website category, the Best Video category, and the Best Editorial category. To make it even sweeter, The Roundup received 1st place for Best Video. We, of course, cannot take all the credit, though. We could not have done it without the help of Jesuit Stage & Film.
I hope that all of you have enjoyed the content this year’s staff has produced, whether it be the new videos we’ve added, some of the opinion pieces we released, or the big articles like the famous Jordan Spieth profile Sports Editor Dylan Dotter ’14 wrote. It was my goal to produce more than the common news story all year, such as music videos with students like Andrew Corey ’14 or profiles on teachers like Mr. Profitt, and we did just that.
While I do love my position with The Roundup, I can’t keep it forever. I will be graduating on Saturday, May 24 with the rest of the Class of 2014, and The Roundup will be handed off to the Class of 2015. It is my pleasure to announce that Dominic Iannelli ’15 has been named the Editor-in-Chief for the 2014-2015 school year. In addition, Michael Lanham ‘15 has been named Managing Editor.
I have gotten to know Dominic extremely well over the past year. He has served as a Junior Associative Editor for us, and before that, he was an outstanding sophomore reporter. Dominic is one of the strongest writers The Roundup has ever had, and if you want proof, check out his writer archive.
I believe he is the perfect man for the job; he is committed, he serves as an excellent leader, and he brings with him a creative mind to further the success of The Roundup. The leadership between these two men will flourish as they lead our staff. I personally cannot wait to see the success they will have.
I want to thank the entire The Roundup staff for everything, and I mean everything. From the weekly meetings to our dinners after school to our first banquet, thank you. To our moderator Dr. Degen, I couldn’t have asked for a better moderator. The dedication you show to the newspaper and to each reporter means the world to everyone. To Mrs. Andrews, Mr. Nava, and Mr. Asche, thank you all. The Roundup wouldn’t be where it is without you.
To our readers, thank you for all the support over the past year. It is because of you that we accomplished our goals, grew as a community, and succeeded in The Dallas Morning News Journalism Day competition. It has been a true pleasure serving you as Editor-in-Chief of The Roundup. I pray you all have a safe and blessed summer, and get ready for another great year of The Roundup!
Sincerely,
Aaron Stonecipher ’14
Editor-in-Chief, 2013-2014
The Roundup
