The Park Press is student-led news source. From the monthly print, to the articles that are constantly added to our SNO website, to the active social media presents across all platforms. In the 2025-2026 school year, the Park Press will also become the newest CTE program for our school under Social Journalism. Students can become completers and apply to be a part of the work release program through leadership in the Park Press.

However, the Park Press was not always what it is today. The class was kicked back up again three years ago due to the hard work of its alumni.

Vidia O’Bryan was the Editor and Chief of the Park Press during the years 2022-2023.

“I joined the park press because writing speaks to me. I also wanted to be a part of re-starting something at my high school in my last year,” said Vidia.

Vidia reflects on some of her favorite memories regarding the press.

“A memorable event was reading all the satirical articles everyone in the press came up with for April Fool’s Day. I think seeing creativity flow through a classroom is special and really fun,” said O’Bryan.

Vidia had joined the Park Press because of her interest in writing, and the class ended up having a life-changing effect.

“I had joined the class because of my interest in writing and it genuinely made me change my major from English to journalism. I always enjoyed the aspects of English but actually being in a newspaper helped me realize it was what I craved to do as a career,” said O’Bryan.

Devyn Poole was a staff writer for the Park Press during the years of 2022-2023.

“I joined the Park Press because of the amazing opportunity to have a creative outlet where I could share my writing with my peers, and for Mrs. Droginske of course,” said Poole.

While now a college student, Devyn continues to look fondly on her time as a staff writer.

“I would say that the Valentine’s Day edition of the Park Press was one of my most memorable and favorite experiences while a member of the press. I swear every member turned into a hopeless romantic during that time. It was really great,” said Poole

Lucy Aderholt was the Editor and Chief of the Park Press during the year 2023-2024. Lucy had been interested in becoming a Park Press writer before it was even an offered class.

“I was inspired to join The Park Press because my junior year was its first year as a class, and I had helped make that happen by being on the student council. Overall, I was proud and excited that we now had a school newspaper. I have always loved English, writing, and Mrs. Droginske, so it was a no-brainer for me to join,” said Aderholt.

Lucy reflects on her time as a Park Press member.

“Many of my fondest memories are just the class periods I would spend in Mrs. Droginske’s room editing and working on the print. I’m a huge perfectionist in terms of grammar, spacing, and formatting, and then Maliah would make it beautiful and add all of the page aesthetics. Everyone in the class had different skills that made each story and edition possible, whether it was working directly on the print or writing certain story genres. I just loved seeing everyone’s interests and talents go into a real, hands-on product that we published for the community. It was truly rewarding,” said Aderholt.

The skills that Lucy has gained from being on the press have not left her.

“As a college student, I am seeing my experience from the class pay off tremendously. I gained leadership experience, improved my grammar, writing, and editing skills, learned AP style, and wrote articles under pressure and in time crunches. I became a better, more concise, and faster writer overall. I tend to write a lot, but in news, you only have so much page space and the readers don’t want an essay. So, I was forced to cut down my writing length, which then led to better writing quality overall,” said Aderholt.

For writers like Lucy, The Park Press was not just a class. Her experiences here have had a hand in her career -path.

“Being in The Park Press influenced my career path, especially in college. I am now an English major and the Press helped me see my passion for writing, outside of regular English classes. For one of my classes this semester, we have to write a one-page response to sometimes over 75 pages of reading. Several years ago, I would’ve truly struggled to write a response to so much content in such few words, but assignments like this are much easier for me because of my experience cutting other people’s and my own articles down, making this assignment much easier for me because of my experience through the Press,” said Aderholt.

Even though Lucy has now graduated and moved on to the next chapter of her life, the current members of the press will never stop learning from her. Lucy’s work and passion has made her a legend to the journalists of room 215. Lucy shares her advice to upcoming and current members of the press.

“Take pride in your articles and put your best effort into them. I can’t express how rewarding it is to have an article published that you’re genuinely proud of and worked hard on. Also to just step out of your comfort zone in terms of what articles you write. It can be fun to do just sports or arts and things that you’re interested in, but finding something even bigger going on in the community that you can write about was something I enjoyed. Don’t just write about certain topics because it’s easier to interview people already at the school, find something that interests you and write about it, it’ll lead to a more interesting article and topic,” said Aderholt.

The Park Press might appear to be a simple journalism class. However, the Park Press has become a family. We began small, but our family is forever growing and we will continue to respect and remember the amazing journalist who came before us.