Letter From the Managing Editor

Editor-in-Chief

Lacie DeGough

Managing Editor

Summer Mills

Faculty Advisor

Jeremiah Massengale

Staff

Izabella Buck

Erica Dick

Maddie Furtick

Amanda Gault

Anthony Cage Grubb

Hello Patriots,

Welcome to our very last issue of the school year! We are so excited to present this finals-themed issue. We cannot believe how quickly the school year has finished. The time has absolutely flown by. Lacie and I could not be happier with how we have represented The Patriot. I am beyond excited to be ending our series of letters from the editors for this year. Lacie and I worked tirelessly to get the newspaper to where it is today. We revived it from a hiatus in the Spring 2022 semester and brought back the biweekly print. Being a part of the University of the Cumberlands’ student newspaper has been one of my most outstanding achievements.

Through my involvement with the newspaper, I have traveled to so many places that I have always wished to visit. I have done many things I never thought possible, from writing articles and putting them out for everyone to see to winning a national award. My work and t he work of our staff continue to surprise me every day. Jeremiah Massengale has been the best advisor during our reign from the fall to now. He encourages us and listens to whatever we need. We could not ask for a better support system while completing our work. I cannot wait to return to the paper in the Fall 2023 semester. I will continue building the paper and its platform. I want the news to be easily accessible and for journalism to be a socially acceptable form of expression again. Fighting against dying journalism has been our struggle this year, but we believe we have succeeded. We have received so many compliments from staff, faculty, and students. We love getting feedback to know what we can improve on, and it also helps us know what we excel at.

The newspaper is doing so well, and I do not know what I will do without Lacie when she graduates. She is the true leader and the brains behind us. Nobody could ever fill her shoes, but I will certainly try my best to be half as good of an editor in chief as she is. I just want to thank everyone that read and interacted with our material. We are grateful to be able to present our work on campus. I hope everyone does well on their finals and has a blessed summer break.

Forever your managing editor,

Summer Mills

Cassidy Howard

Alyssa King

Ashlyn Liddle

Amber Simpkins

Hannah Mae Sizemore

Emily Sloan

Rachel Wade

Front cover photo by Lacie DeGough

Back cover graphic by Hannah Mae Sizemore

Award-winning member of the Associated Collegiate Press and Kentucky Press Association.