Written by Kristi Rolf
As commencement quickly approaches, we at the Brackety-Ack are feeling especially grateful for the wonderful seniors on our staff who have dedicated countless hours to ensure that our paper is the best it can be. As the class of 2021 prepares to tackle life post-graduation, we captured their reflections on their time at Roanoke and on staff at the Brackety-Ack.
Sarah Riddell has served as our business manager during the past year and has done fantastic work to keep the paper running smoothly! Anyone who reads the Brackety-Ack online will recognize her as the person who uploads every article to our website, ensuring that our publications reach readers far and wide. Riddell says, “I’m definitely going to miss reading little snippets of all the creative pieces the staff puts together as I’m queuing them on the website. They never cease to bring a smile to my face!”
Riddell is also a big fan of Roanoke College’s newest dining establishment, Freshens, since her “favorite meal has to be a Santa Fe flatbread (hold the chipotle ranch because eww ranch) and a Peach on the Beach smoothie (hold the mango because also eww).”
We will greatly miss Sarah’s diligence and thank her for her time spent hard at work for the Brackety-Ack.
Joyelle Ronan began her time at the Brackety-Ack her sophomore year and now works as the Culture and Wellness editor as well as our fantastic social media guru! Ronan remembers fondly the articles she wrote about pop culture including her favorite article, “Mental Health in the Movies: Lars and the Real Girl.”
Joy was a busy bee during her time at Roanoke, noting what she would miss the most, “The activities I was involved with like the Brackety-Ack, Basically Tarantino, WRKE, and Lambda Pi Eta. I don’t know what I am going to do with all of my time now!”
Thank you Joyelle for everything you have done for the BA. We will miss how joyful you made the paper.
During her three years on staff, Zoe Manoukian has written for the Opinion and Culture and Wellness Pages. Reflecting on her time at college she shares her favorite Roanoke memory was studying abroad in France for 6 months! While she was abroad, Manoukian continued to write for the paper, providing readers of the Brackety-Ack with delightful articles about her life in Europe.
Manoukian says that the thing she will miss the most about the Brackety-Ack is, “having the opportunity to explore and write about different topics to share with my classmates and friends.”
Thank you Zoe for your commitment to the Brackety-Ack, even across time zones, and the delightful perspective you have brought to each publication!
Kaelyn Spickler has been an integral part of the Brackety-Ack since her freshman year when she started as a writer for the Folks at Noke page. She has come a long way since then, serving as our Editor in Chief for the past two years. Spickler shared her appreciation for our hardworking editors saying, “I will miss being at layout with all the editorial staff where we make a stressful process, a fun time.”
She also acknowledges the guidance of the Brackety Ack’s advisors sharing, “I will also miss Dr. Carter and Jenny Boone greatly.”
Kaelyn Spickler will go down in Brackety-Ack history as our dauntless leader during the tumultuous years of COVID-19 and a friend to everyone who knows her.
To the class of 2021, thank you for your unwavering dedication to our publication, especially during two unpredictable years of a pandemic. The Brackety-Ack would not be the same without your contributions and we are so thankful to have worked with you! Your friends at the Brackety-Ack wish you the best of luck in every adventure that awaits you outside Dear Old Roanoke.
