As we are well into May, and the seniors are preparing to graduate, the class of 2030 is preparing to be welcomed to the Palace on the Hill this fall to replace the class of 2026. There is a lot for these freshmen to be excited about, but don‘t worry, the nerves of walking into this massive building are natural.

There are many opportunities at Wheeling Park High School. From the number of clubs, to the many athletic teams, to the 17 CTE programs, to the numerous dual enrollment and AP courses, there is something for everyone. For the best high school experience, take advantage of the opportunities you have in your four years of high school. There are so many students here at Park, and so many people you can get along with, so don’t be afraid to do new things, and talk to new people your first year. Your four years of high school will be more fun with the more people you know and friends that you have.  There will be upwards of 400 students in each class, and I am someone that wants to make sure I make everybody I can happy. But the truth is, as much as you want to, you can’t make everyone happy.

If you take my advice above, you will be friends with so many people, and you will not care about the people that you don’t get along with. By taking advantage of electives/CTE programs and athletic teams, you will meet people you never thought you would get along with or be such great friends with.  

The Park Press was a thriving journalism program in the first 30+ years of the school’s existence. But the program left Wheeling Park high school in the 2010’s, and wasn’t really talked about for a number of years until the spring of 2021 in Mrs. Droginske’s freshman Intro to Speech and Theater class. Lucy Aderholt walked up to Mrs. Droginske and asked her if she wanted to be the advisor for a newspaper club, and when Lucy was a junior, that idea of returning The Park Press to the club list of Wheeling Park High School came to fruition. Not as a club, but as a full class with Mrs. Droginske as the advisor.

There were 15 students in that first class in the fall of 2022, with Vidia O’Bryant as the first Editor-in-Chief. Now, four years later, The Park Press has evolved from an elective to a full-fledged CTE Program. We joined SNO sites for our website in the spring of 2023, and since then, we have won 14 Best of SNO Awards, being the only school in the state of West Virginia with more than one in that same timeframe.

You might wonder why I am talking about our history. The reason is because of those 15 original students, I am the only one left who hasn’t already graduated. So, as I am passing the baton to the next round of Park Press student journalists, it has been an awesome four years in this school, but specifically in this program. I have enjoyed the past year receiving all your ideas for the press, writing about the stories that matter most to the students of Wheeling Park High school, and making sure the print every month is as good as it can be.

It has been my great privilege to serve as your Editor-in-Chief of the best high school journalism program in the state. From Vidia O’Bryant, Lucy Aderholt, Maliah Miskiewicz, Carter Bauer, and all of the staff members that helped get this program off the ground to what it is today, thank you for reading, watching, and supporting us along the way.

As a member of the 50th graduating class of Wheeling Park High School, here’s to the next 50, especially for this awesome program.