Wow. It feels unreal that I am sitting here writing this letter saying goodbye. It feels like I blinked and all the sudden it was 2023. The years really don’t go by until they are gone. I remember thinking to myself as a freshman as I walked through the doors, “How am I going to do this?” Well I did it. 

I never thought I would fall in love with journalism the way I did. I joined journalism in my freshman year because I wanted a class where I could be with my friends. It’s still bizarre to me that that friend group eventually became the heart of the paper. As I reflect on my senior year, I can’t help but think how much the Dispatch has taught me about myself. I couldn’t be more grateful for this publication and I am more than proud to be a part of growing this award-winning paper to greater expectations. 

To Mom and Dad: Thank you for your endless support. You have never let me shy away from a challenge. You have taught me so much independence and for that, I am so ready to go on to pursue my career in the medical field. Living in Austin has been the best thing that has ever happened to me and I truly believe I wouldn’t be the person I am today if you hadn’t shown me that my voice matters. 

To my teachers: I had never felt that I had a teacher in my corner until I met Mrs.Rodriguez. Even though I only ever saw you through the screen, you always pushed me to succeed. To Mrs. Stiles, you really made my senior year. I loved coming to your class just to ask how you were doing and you always found a way to make me laugh. To Mrs. Davis, thank you for always supporting me and making me feel welcome every day. 

To Ava: Happy 10 years! You are my rock and I don’t think I would’ve made it through high school without you. Thank you for being the shoulder for me to cry on. I am so so proud of you and you will do amazing things at UT. 

To Reeves: You have put so much pressure on me these past two years and for that I thank you. Being a part of a newspaper has taught me so many skills that I really didn’t know I had. This pathway has brought out a side of me that leads, contributes, and uplifts to the things around me. And while running a paper isn’t exactly nursing school,  I can’t wait to see where these skills take me.

To Leadership: You guys are amazing. I really do think we did amazing things together. Lucille, I am so glad we have gotten so much closer this year. You are so much fun to be around and I have loved working with you and watching you set up as a leader. To Carey, you have shown so much growth and I can’t wait to see where Journalism takes you. To Dimitri, I didn’t think I would be including you as leadership but here we are. Thank you for always being there to talk things out, newspaper related or not. With all the things you helped us with, you really deserved the title of Chief of Staff. From going to San Francisco and eating the best sushi I’ve ever had on the floor of the boys hotel room and taking Ubers to the pier to recover missing cameras, I couldn’t ask for a better team. 

To the Dispatch Staff: Congratulations on all your hard work. I really hope you continue to push this paper beyond what we have done. I promise you, all the hard work pays off when the papers roll into the room on distribution day. I know that many of you felt unprepared to jump into writing and producing content, I did too. Between the Directive and the paper, I’ve seen all of your skills and confidence sky-rocket. You will do amazing things and I will miss you! 

Next year, I will be attending Texas State University as a Pre-Nursing major. I have aspirations to become a pediatric nurse practitioner but I am really more excited to see where my passions take me. 

With love, 

Isabella del Nido