The saying always goes that the worst quality you could develop is complacency. That is, you become so increasingly comfortable with the norm you have become accustomed to, that you fail to yearn for more. However, here at the Red and Black, with the help of our advisors, our staff, and most importantly our school, the only quality we have learned to adapt is ambition. With a growing fan base, a group of students always looking to do more, it seems only right for us to look back in retrospect and see all that we have accomplished in two years and what else we can still do for us to grow. Luckily, this past Wednesday at Adelphi University, we had the privilege to have an opportunity such as this.

Being among dozens of other schools, it can become easily overwhelming and nerve wracking knowing the amount of talent and competition that is among you. Yet, ever so rarely are you able to put that competitive edge behind you and instead come together to learn from one another, evolve, and grow as individuals and groups. To sum it up best, our own advisor Mrs. Sullivan articulated that “the Quill Awards were a wonderful opportunity to meet with students and advisors from schools across Long Island. We shared our ideas, frustrations, and triumphs and what it takes to be a part of the media community and a voice for our schools.” Indeed, being journalists is not always an easy task: many hardships, difficulties, and roadblocks become de facto in such a chaotic field. While this is clearly not ideal, for us to all come together and share our experiences in order to help overcome them will not help our own papers but help give you, the reader, a more quality piece of content.

While the learning process was all well-and-good, the recognition from such a prestigious group of individuals speaks louder than any words I could exacerbate. While I walked away second place in Best Online Writing, fellow staff member and reporter Nicole Niemiec was able to tally two awards: one in second place for Best Feature Article, and a third place award for Most Outstanding Reporter. In her own words, “the whole experience has been both humbling and insightful. I feel I am walking out a better journalists for what I have taken in here.” With that sentiment, I could not happen to agree more, as I feel for any aspiring journalist event such as these are key to growing in such an ever changing and controversial field.

Being able to spend the day at Adelphi to hear and learn from some of the brightest and renowned journalists is an event that was invaluable. From Nicole and I, to Mrs. Sullivan, the knowledge we attained there to take back and reflect on is worth more to us than any dollar amount. With that being said, we plan on continuing to bring you the news, both community based and global, as best as we can.