Four print issues, over 50 web stories and countless minutes of interviews culminated in another year of success for the Golden Arrow.
This school year, the Golden Arrow journalism staff covered a multitude of stories, ranging from embracing inclusivity in sports and arts, raising opinions on current controversies and spotlighting talented groups and individuals on campus.
Senior Brandon Liu, who served as Web Editor-in-Chief, underlines the privilege of being in a school community where journalism is central to the student body. He highlights how the Golden Arrow preserves moments in Woodbridge High history that can be celebrated by future generations.
“We’re very blessed to be in this school and for Woodbridge [High] to have a journalism program,” Liu said. “[Golden Arrow] really allows students to have a creative outlet, to document all the amazing things happening on campus, celebrate the stories of different students and inspire the next generation of leaders, learners and educators.”
The program’s staff have grown immensely as student journalists throughout the school year. Student success has been highlighted in the national Best of Student Newspapers Online (SNO) Awards and awards won at the Orange County Journalism Education Association competition. These triumphs are a testament to the Golden Arrow journalists’ commitment, growth and hard work.
Senior Ruby Yang, who served as Print Editor-in-Chief, also comments on the dedication of the staff. Like any year, the program’s success did not come easy. There were noticeable challenges, delays and a constant cycle of revisions. However, the ability of the 26 editors, staff writers, illustrators and photographers to step into new roles and collaborate demonstrated Golden Arrow’s integrated efforts to be a voice for the student body.
“I’m just really proud of everybody for making it through the program, sticking with it, staying passionate about [journalism] and not giving up towards the end because I know it is a lot of work and it [can be] very stressful. Just making it through is already a very big accomplishment in and of itself,” Yang said.
Liu also highlights Golden Arrow’s increased online presence, evident in the growth in readership through digital platforms.
“We’ve really ramped up our website action and published a lot of stories on the website along with our Instagram. We’ve probably posted over a hundred posts by now,” Liu said.
Yang recalls the challenges the Golden Arrow has had to overcome in recent years, particularly the Covid-19 pandemic. She is proud that the organization has since been able to maintain its four-issue publication timeline and has achieved its financial goals despite these setbacks.
This year in Golden Arrow was also particularly special for the program because it welcomed a new journalism advisor, Kristina Miller. Though the change was unexpected, student journalists embraced it joyfully, as Miller has been a wonderful addition to the class environment and an essential support to the student journalists.
Miller comments on how she was able to learn and grow in her first year as a journalism advisor by adjusting to the environment Golden Arrow student journalists created this year.
“[I want to give a] really big shout-out to the leadership positions this year because everybody took charge. I felt like I was able to ease into the position and learn about everything journalism related, without the burden of trying to figure it out by myself,” Miller said.
As the school year has brought many accomplishments for the Golden Arrow, future Co-Editors-in-Chief Annabelle Ko and Danbi Lee wish to reflect the senior staff’s efforts in preserving a program that fosters diversity, representation and a striving for excellence.
“Despite being a newcomer to the program, our journalism veterans immediately welcomed me into an environment that allowed students to thrive in more ways than I could have imagined,” Ko said. “Next year, I look forward to working alongside Danbi to create that same safe space for our staff while preserving tradition, sharing meaningful stories within our campus and continuing the legacies of past Golden Arrow staff.”
Lee reiterates Ko’s bittersweet sentiments.
“This year, our senior staff members have mentored us to become better journalists, communicators, collaborators and people. I wish to do the same for the new Golden Arrow staff as I work with Annabelle,” Lee said.
Miller echoes the ideas of the future Editors-in-Chief while commenting on other Golden Arrow improvements for the next school year. She wishes to allow students to expand their journalistic reporting to subjects that relate to students.
“We have a very strong group of editors and writers coming in, so it’s just the fine-tuning…I want to encourage students to adopt stories that may be more controversial– things they are more passionate about but too scared to write about,” Miller said. “[Additionally], I want to be the support for them and show them how we write within the means of our school codes…but also broaden the things we write about.”
Liu further explores other aspects of our program that could be improved, such as mentoring beginning journalists to help them better integrate into the Golden Arrow newsroom environment.
“[We can focus on] bridging the transition between beginning journalism to advanced journalism more seamlessly because I know we used to have the mentorship program, which I really enjoyed as a former beginning journalist, so I think continuing that for future years [would be] good,” Liu said.
As Yang, Liu, and many other senior staff members pass the torch to the incoming journalism students, they remind the team to strive to promote Golden Arrow’s core mission: to serve as a public forum for information and enlighten, inspire, and educate the Warrior community.
As Ko and Lee step into their new leadership roles, they hope to carry on the legacy of the many students who have actively contributed to making the Golden Arrow into the flourishing program it is today.
