Hi, my name is Charlotte Schwarte, and I’ve been involved in the newspaper for the past 3 years! I’ve been a page editor for the past two years, an Objective Executive editor this past year, and have written too many feature stories to count. I can step away from the JBHS Dispatch now, knowing that I absolutely loved the experience; the genuine hard work of writing and editing under deadline, building my interview skills, and interacting with people I normally wouldn’t have, and becoming a part of this amazing staff. I take for granted the countless skills I’ve learned since freshman year that now feel so natural, like anything to do with the insanity of InDesign.

I distinctly remember the moment freshman year when I learned about the newspaper, and instantly knowing how badly I wanted to be part of it, the idea of writing and reading in an organization, and having that community around me. The thing that I’ve now come to value most about newspaper is the group of people and environment I’ve found and how central it’s been to my high school experience. The friends I’ve made are all so intelligent, driven, and genuinely entertaining, and having that bond of working together to make the newspaper the best it can be is so amazing. Working with a group of people to make this paper issue after issue, and challenging myself to make the best page and stories I can, has been so intellectually gratifying. I’ve learned so much about myself and how I deal with challenges, and someone I want to thank especially is Mr. Reeves. He understands this paper and how to manage it so well, and it’s insane to think about how he’s watched us all grow over the past four years. There’s a reason this paper is nationally acclaimed, and it’s because he knows what good writing and designing is and how to cultivate it in his students. 

I now realize I might not be writing this right, but either way I still want to go ahead and thank a couple of the people that have made the Dispatch what I’ve described it to be. 

Marissa, thank you for being with me every. single. day. in double-blocked newspaper and making even the stress of deadline so much fun. I can’t believe that a chance seating in anatomy and newspaper led to you being one of my closest friends who I can talk to about genuinely anything.

Savannah, I’ve gotten to watch our love of reading grow over the past 15 years of knowing you into writing together in newspaper, and I will always love your dedication to learning things and the nerdy conversations we have that come from that.

Sam, I literally don’t know how to describe our friendship but thank you so so much, you are such a source of happiness for so many people and I’m so grateful that I’m one of the people that gets to know you. In terms of newspaper, the program definitely would be missing something without you.

Caroline, thank you for always having a crossword ready for me and strugglebusing through page designing with me. I’m so glad that newspaper has made us friends, you are so funny and real and I cannot wait to see what you do after high school.

Gabby, thank you for always being kind, entertaining, and determined! Both track and newspaper would have been much harder if I didn’t have you with me, and I think you’re well on your way to being the next Coach Hamza.

And thank you to Peyton, Ryan, Olivia, Arlo, Zoe, Sawyer, Cooper, and so many more! It’s corny to write, but the now-seniors did start out as confused sophomores and somewhere along the way learned how to run the paper. Lastly, thanks to Liberty and Elizabeth for dedicating so much of themselves to the paper and leading us all to make this year’s paper the (in my opinion) best, and to the underclassmen, I have loved getting to teach you!

I will forever value my time spent in newspaper, as I got to pursue in a serious and competitive way the thing that I have loved most in my life, reading and writing, and have been able to be deeply involved in the Bowie community. I ironically can’t put into words what is so special about my time in the Dispatch, but this has been my attempt!