By Hannah Martinez

I started Nest News as a sophomore in 2016, with absolutely no idea what I was doing. I knew two things: one, that I wanted to bring back Cal High’s newspaper, which laid dead for over half a decade; and two, for whatever reason, my sophomore English teacher Mr. Hochadel decided to help me.

Starting the newspaper was the easy part; keeping it strong was much harder. I struggled, in the beginning, to attract staying members, to fight for an actual website, to think of ways to publicize our place on campus. There were many days where I felt like I was the only student who cared about Nest News. Somehow, I found the strength to keep pursuing growth, and eventually, I struck gold.

Nest News has grown since its early days of forging a club constitution and publishing articles on an enhanced Google Doc. We have members of all class levels, we have a website, we have an established presence on campus. Never did I think that Nest News would survive my graduation and subsequent departure from Cal; now, it’s clear that a strong junior, sophomore, and freshman class will ensure Nest News’ place in the future.

Next fall I will be attending Harvard College. When I leave, I trust that future editors-in-chief, co-editors, publicists, treasurers, and staff members will keep alive what I began as a sophomore in 2016. I wish them the best of luck in finding members, in keeping standards, in telling stories that need to be heard, and in searching for the truth. As they say at Harvard: veritas!