Every year at the end of the first semester, the SunDevil Times undergoes a leadership change. New editors are chosen, and the old editors prepare to leave their positions. During the third quarter of the school year, current editors work with upcoming editors and teach them their new roles and responsibilities, and by the fourth quarter, new editors take over while the outgoing editors mentor their progress.
The SunDevil Times Leadership is currently composed of nine roles: Editor in Chief, Assistant Editor in Chief, Copy Editor, Design Editor, Managing Editor, Sports Section Editor, Hard News Editor, Soft News Editor, and Photo Editor.
The Editor in Chief leads the staff. They oversee peer review groups, manage the website, and lead (or choose who leads) “What’s in The News?”, a daily activity that allows all staff writers to share current news stories with the class. The outgoing Editor in Chief is senior Lily Check, and the incoming Editor in Chief is junior Rylee Partridge.
The Assistant Editor in Chief works as the Editor in Chief’s right-hand man. They communicate with the staff on deadlines, along with helping the Editor in Chief with anything they need. The outgoing Assistant Editor in Chief is junior Rylee Partridge, and the incoming Assistant Editor in Chief is junior John Diwa.
The Copy Editor’s main role is to check all stories for accurate grammar, spelling, and punctuation. If any mistakes need to be corrected after a story is published, the copy editor fixes them. This is the last year the SunDevil Times will have a Copy Editor, and the outgoing Copy Editor is junior John Diwa.
The Managing Editor oversees the SunDevil Times Instagram account: @shs.press. Valuable information like schedules for altered school days, pictures from school-wide events, and displays of recently published stories are posted to the page frequently. The outgoing Managing Editor is junior Emma Lewis, and the incoming Managing Editor is junior Charlotte Kernutt.
The Design Editor works on the website design and helps staff writers with thumbnails. Junior Jay Pena is the Design Editor for both the current and upcoming school year, and junior Gabby Cabangon is transitioning into the new role of Assistant Design Editor.
The Soft News and Hard News Section Editors specifically focus on brainstorming ideas for and editing stories of their respective genres. Soft News is a genre of journalism that focuses on human interest stories and entertainment rather than urgent or breaking news. In contrast, Hard News stories focus on informative, time-sensitive topics that could have an immediate impact on the reader. The Sports Section Editor functions the same as the other section editors, but is in charge of the sports section. The outgoing Soft News Section Editor is senior Isaiah Bolden and the outgoing Hard News Section Editor is senior Tierra Adams. The SunDevil Times will not have Soft or Hard News Section Editors for the 2026-2027 school year, but will introduce the position of Sports Section Editor, which will be occupied by junior Helsa Sokpoh.
The Photo Editor of the SunDevil Times is responsible for the visual aspect of the newspaper. They coordinate with staff writers to capture the images they want in their stories and attend school events to document activities in the moment. The outgoing Photo Editor is senior Tierra Adams, and the incoming Photo Editor is junior Malia Boyd.
All editors are responsible for leading peer review groups, where staff writers can get valuable feedback and instruction on how to improve their stories.
All editors for both the 2025-2026 school year and the 2026-2027 school year were given the opportunity to reflect on their time as editors or share their hopes for the future school year.
2025-2026 Editors
Lily Check – 24-25 & 25-26 Editor in Chief
Q: What has been your favorite thing about being an editor?
A: My favorite thing about being an editor has been seeing everyone’s personalities shine through their writing. After a while, it becomes clear what everyone is passionate about, and it helps me learn more about them, not just as writers, but as people. I also love working with Mrs. Trace and the other editors; we get to know each other really well, and it feels like a family.
Q: Of the stories you have written, which one is your favorite and why?
A: One of my favorite stories is “Gender Pay Gap in Sports: A History,” which I actually wrote during my sophomore year. I love it because it’s such a niche topic, and it’s something that we hadn’t covered previously. I love writing about sports in general, so this was definitely fun to report on.
Q: Do you have any words of advice or encouragement for the new editors?
A: I would say just be yourself, and always form connections with the people you’re leading because if you don’t, they won’t trust and respect you. It’s also easy to get overwhelmed because you’re dealing with so many articles at once, so just take a deep breath and remember that stress is only temporary!
Isaiah Bolden – 25-26 Soft News Section Editor
Q: What has been your favorite thing about being an editor?
A: My favorite thing about being an editor is that I get to be a mentor to others and someone to look to for help.
Q: Of the stories you have written, which one is your favorite and why?
A: My favorite story to write was “Canes on Capitol Hill” because I got to write about something kind of social studies-related, my favorite school subject, and I love the title I came up with for this story.
Q: Do you have any words of advice or encouragement for the new editors?
A: I would tell them to be confident in themselves because someone else’s confidence in you helped you be where you are now.
Tierra Adams – 25-26 Hard News Section Editor and Photographer
Q: What has been your favorite thing about being an editor?
A: Meeting new people and the experiences being the editor lend me to do. There are a lot of events and places I would have never gone to if I weren’t an editor. It finally brought me out of my shell as well.
Q: Of the stories you have written, which one is your favorite and why?
A: My favorite story I wrote was Fashion Ads Under the Microscope because of the effort and hard work I put into it, and I believe it was very well written.
Q: Do you have any words of advice or encouragement for the new editors?
A: Enjoy the new experiences editorship will bring you and take advantage of those opportunities. It might be stressful at times, but lean on your fellow editors for help; that’s what they are there for. Growing connections with the journalism family will be the best.
2025-2026 & 2026-2027 Editors
Rylee Partridge – 24-25 & 25-26 Assistant Editor in Chief & 26-27 Editor in Chief
Q: What is something that you learned this year that you will take with you as an editor next year?
A: Over the past three years, I have learned how to properly communicate with the other staffers and how to make the classroom a comfortable and fun environment for everyone. I’ve learned a lot from the staffers themselves- meeting so many new people each year has provided me with a much-appreciated perspective.
Q: Of the stories you have written, which is your favorite and why?
A: My favorite story was probably the Q&A I did with Nadgeena Jerome, she’s not only a successful journalist for the US Sun, but a model and mental health advocate as well. This has been my most proud story solely because of her sharing her own stories/advice with me to then pass on to other journalists.
Q: What is your future vision for journalism and the SunDevil Times?
A: My future vision for the SunDevil Times is to have a very tight-knit staff. I’m hoping to organize more team building activities with the other editors before the 2026-2027 school year kicks off and more during the school year with the rest of the staff.
John Diwa – 25-26 Copy Editor & 26-27 Assistant Editor in Chief
Q: What is something that you learned this year that you will take with you as an editor next year?
A: Just be nice and open-minded! Kindness goes a long way, especially when you work with people you look up to.
Q: Of the stories you have written, which is your favorite and why?
A: My favorite story that I’ve written was probably my unreleased “Terrifier Trilogy.” If you know, you know…
Q: What is your future vision for journalism and the SunDevil Times?
A: I’m not sure if I want to pursue journalism after high school, but I am interested in writing professionally! My future for the SunDevil Times is delivering easily accessible information to our student body and others around us. We all should be informed about what is happening in the world, especially in this scary, dark world.
Jay Pena – 25-26 Design Editor & 26-27 Design Editor
Q: What is something that you learned this year that you will take with you as an editor next year?
A: I would say this year I’ve learned to be more prepared, whether that be in the form of time management, organization, or just simply being flexible when unexpected changes happen.
Q: Of the stories you have written, which is your favorite and why?
A: My personal favorite story would either be a hard news story I wrote titled “Music: a historic art form and a tumultuous, ever-changing industry”, one of the first reviews I ever wrote when I started journalism, “‘Daydreaming Days in a Daydream Nation'”, or the first profile piece I ever wrote, “Dive into the World of Mrs. Dupont.” I think they’re all some of my better-written, more thoughtful pieces. The hard news piece was on a topic I was really interested in, and I managed to get some pretty good interviews and interesting perspectives on the matter. The review piece is special to me mainly because it’s what started my love for writing music reviews, the type of writing I undoubtedly do the most for the SunDevil Times. And the profile piece is among my favorites because it gave me a really unique opportunity to learn more about a Salem teacher beyond her life as an educator, and it was overall a wonderful experience to interview her, write about her, and have it published.
Q: What is your future vision for journalism and the SunDevil Times?
A: My future vision for the SunDevil Times specifically is to have even more great stories published in it and maybe even work on other aesthetic elements of the site. As for journalism as a whole, it very well may be something I consider pursuing seriously in my future.
2026-2027 Editors
Gabby Cabangon – Assistant Design Editor
Q: What excites you the most about being an editor?
A: I’m very excited to work with people who are enthusiastic about designs like I am. I’m looking to contribute nothing but my very best to what I do and to even help out my fellow editors.
Q: Of the stories you have written, which is your favorite and why?
A: My favorite story that I’ve written has to be the review I wrote on Beabadoobee’s album Beatopia. I loved digging deep to find my own interpretations of her songs, and with her being my top artist of 2025, I just had to write about one of the albums that shaped me as a person.
Q: What is your future vision for journalism and the SunDevil Times?
A: I’ve learned so much in a short amount of time that I hope I can use these skills in the future. I’m really looking forward to working with my other editors and helping future journalism students write their best works or design their best thumbnails.
Helsa Sokpoh – Sports Section Editor
Q: What excites you the most about being an editor?
A: I’m most excited about having a leadership position, learning more about journalism, and giving Salem Sports more news coverage!
Q: Of the stories you have written, which is your favorite and why?
A: Out of the stories I’ve written, my favorite is the Crumbl Cookie Review because it was my first ever story, and I had so much fun making and editing the video.
Q: What is your future vision for journalism and the SunDevil Times?
A: My future vision for journalism and the SunDevil Times is a platform that all students and staff enjoy interacting with, where we cover multiple interesting aspects of the school with captivating stories.
Malia Boyd – Photo Editor
Q: What excites you the most about being an editor?
A: Being able to engage with others.
Q: Of the stories you have written, which is your favorite and why?
A: The one I’m currently making with students’ snow day pictures and their favorite things to do.
Q: What is your future vision for journalism and the SunDevil Times?
A: Have more people interested in the SunDevil Times and get more readers.
Charlotte Kernutt – Managing Editor
Q: What excites you the most about being an editor?
A: I am so excited to be an editor because I have always wanted to pursue journalism and write with an advanced position. Being the managing editor also means I have access to the website and the social media, and therefore, I am able to post when new stories are published and spread all of the news that the SunDevil Times has to offer. I am also excited to get to work with other editors to grow and strengthen the bond I have already created.
Q: Of the stories you have written, which is your favorite and why?
A: My favorite story that I have written is my review of Ten by Pearl Jam. I really like rock music, and it was nice to express my opinion on music publicly. Writing a review is trickier than it seems, and that may just be my opinion, but I liked the challenge. I also like sharing a side of me through my articles that many people may not understand about me and my personality at first glance.
Q: What is your future vision for journalism and the SunDevil Times?
A: I want everyone to feel like journalism can be a place where all opinions and voices are heard. No story is too small, and no opinion is too big. The SunDevil Times will be a place where articles are cultivated with mindfulness and organization. I hope to inspire a plethora of new writers to go for their dreams, whether that is simply writing an article or running for a manager position.
