My two-ish years on Jacket all started with a random Instagram post back in 2023. It seems like a lifetime ago, and also like it was just yesterday. As a Berkeley High School student, I have always known about the Jacket. It was a part of the culture at the school. We would have presentations in English classes about being a writer or photographer, and a few times I was tempted to join. But I couldn’t see myself being truly motivated in either, so I didn’t apply. I’ve always been much more of a math and politics-oriented person, and although those may have appeared at some points, it wasn’t the main idea of the sections or what I knew about the Jacket. Until I saw the Instagram post, which was reposted by someone on their story for the business team. I didn’t even know the Jacket had a business side. It was a school organization, so why would they have a whole team for business? Regardless, I was intrigued. I completed the application the support of one of my friends on the Jacket, Talia Rosen, something I would soon learn is a recurring theme.
In my first year, I learned how to build relationships with people by making ad calls and working with my colleagues at bake sales. I also learned how to respond positively to emails from people upset over something, an act of civility that will serve me in the future.
Flash forward to the start of this year, only one year after I had started, and I was the managing editor of the whole newspaper. I did not know what this role entailed, only that I was responsible for raising $20,000 during the year. During our first year, through writing checks, invoices, or just responding to parents’ emails. I learned more about managing a business and a bank account. But funnily enough, the biggest lesson I learned was how to write an email. Additionally, due to my many trips there, I’ve formed business relationships with the workers at the core U.S. post office business center, while learning how to mail issues or deposit checks. What started my journey on the Jacket, continued throughout my whole time and turned into one of my favorite parts: the relationships I have built with businesses and people, outside and in the BHS community. The Jacket is all about the people, which has translated into my interests outside of the Jacket and something I hope to take into my future.
I am preparing to move across the world for university, a step I never thought I would take. I’m studying economics and international relations, all of which relate to the original interests that led to me applying for the business team. Without the Jacket, I would likely not have the confidence or the skills to make this move, and as I look towards graduation, I reflect on the past two years of my time on the Jacket.
This is the first thing I’ve written for the Jacket, again with the help of Talia. Writing this has created a full circle experience, closing out my time and allowing me to reflect on my friendships and work, that I wouldn’t have done without it. I hope to stay even more connected to the paper, being able to learn about all the news at BHS, even as I head into my future.