Since enrolling in journalism as a freshman, senior Kelcie Wagner has taken on several different roles as a member of the Spotlight staff, proving to be a prominent leader and integral part of the editorial team. She is currently a fourth-year staff reporter, second-year Entertainment editor, and first-year Sports editor. Wagner initially decided to take journalism because of her strong interest in writing, but she also credits her eighth grade English teacher, Mrs. Dana Kleppinger, who encouraged Kelcie to join the Spotlight, as she believed she would be a perfect fit. Four years later, Wagner is glad she stuck with it, as it has been a rewarding journey. Her favorite parts about her experience have been creating memories with the staff and sharing the Spotlight with the school community on distribution days. “All of the memories I shared with the editors will stick with me for a lifetime,” Wagner said. Outside of journalism, Wagner spent 13 years as a cheerleader, and believes the sport has left a lasting impact on her. “I have cheered since kindergarten. I originally joined the sport because I wanted to take after my sister, but as I continued to do it, I really enjoyed it,” Wagner said. “After doing [Cheer] for so long, it has definitely made me the person I am today and taught me so many life lessons.” During high school, Wagner also was a part of both the Winter and Spring Track & Field teams, throwing shotput and discus. “Being a part of track has been the biggest blessing of my life. Both the team and the coaches are always very supportive,” said Wagner. “I will forever remember the memories I have made with the team, and especially with the other throwers.” Wagner has also been a member of a lot of clubs during her time at Southern Lehigh. Since she likes to be involved, this includes Student Council, Varsity Club, Mini-thon, Angel 34, and Morgan’s Message. Wagner also credits her teachers, especially art teacher Mrs. Stephanie Donald, for making SLHS feel like a second home. “Mrs. Donald has always made me feel continuously supported no matter what, and I will truly remember her kindness for the rest of my life,” Wagner said. “Throughout knowing her since freshman year, she has never failed to make me laugh or make my day ten times better, whether I am having a good day or not.” Next year, Wagner will attend Penn State University, where she plans to study security risk analysis. “I have always wanted to do something with the government, whether that was being a police officer or a desk job,” Wagner said. “But I settled on security risk analysis because one of my best friends told me about it, and I researched more about it and fell in love with it.” As she prepares to move on to the next chapter of her life, Wagner leaves a piece of advice for underclassmen. “Don’t take anything for granted,” she said. “Even if you have two years left of high school, live every moment out like it will be your last because nothing lasts forever.”

After spending four years writing for the Spotlight, with three of those years as Opinion editor and one as Features editor, senior Morgan Downing will graduate in May. Morgan originally joined journalism during her freshman year in hopes of finding a community of students who share an equal interest in writing. Since then, she firmly believes she found that community, and so much more.  “I’ve made some great friends through journalism that I’m very grateful for,” Downing said. “It’s the class I look forward to the most because we have so much creative freedom and the other editors make it such a fun and supportive environment.”  During her four years in the club, Morgan has written all sorts of articles—from sports season recaps to album reviews to Homecoming court coverage. However, Opinion and Editorial writing will always hold her heart.  As the Opinion editor for three years, Morgan went on to compete at a state level in Editorial writing at the PSPA State Competition this past March. After an hour-long press conference with Penn State Blue Band members and a timed writing competition, Morgan lived up to her title, placing first in the state for editorial writing.  “Competing in PSPA is always an awesome experience because it allows us to connect with other student journalists from across the Commonwealth,” Downing said. “I was honored to be named state champion at the competition, and it felt great being able to represent the Spotlight.”  In addition to the newspaper, Morgan is also an active member of many other Southern Lehigh clubs. As the vice president of the French Honor Society, co-president of No Place for Hate, and a member of the National Honor Society and Ecology Club, Morgan plays a large role in our school’s success. Morgan also volunteers for the Lehigh Valley Youth Council and is a student ambassador for CareerLink.  In her free time, Morgan enjoys traveling. Through Southern Lehigh’s annual international trips with EF Tours, she visited Italy this past summer and will travel to France this coming summer. Additionally, Morgan enjoys reading, listening to music, photography, and hiking. In fact, she set a life goal to hike all 63 national parks—so far, she’s at 11.  To get to where she is today, Morgan attributes much of her success to the support of her family, including her three role models: her dad for his work ethic, her mom for her creativity, and her grandfather for his kindness. Morgan also recognizes her French teacher, Madame Farley, and several English teachers, for leaving a lasting impact on her education and experience at Southern Lehigh. “Madame Farley is one of the most supportive teachers I’ve ever had, and I will never forget her kindness,” Downing said. “Also, Mrs. Spritzer and many of my English teachers over the past few years have been crucial to my growth as a writer.”  Although leaving this chapter of her life behind is bittersweet, Morgan is thankful for all she experienced through high school—especially in journalism. Of the four years she spent as part of the Spotlight staff, Morgan feels her favorite moments to look back on are the times spent with the other editors, whether that be collaborating in the publication lab, attending group field trips, or delivering copies of the newspaper to classrooms on distribution days. Moving forward, she is excited to continue her education at Lehigh University, where she plans to continue her journalism involvement as a writer for “The Brown and White.” She hopes to one day obtain a career in communications, business, politics, or law. As she wraps up her final days at Southern Lehigh, Morgan would like to leave a few words of advice for incoming students and underclassmen.  “It’s ok not to have your future all figured out yet,” Downing said. “Take time to explore your interests and discover what you’re passionate about. From there, things will start to fall into place.”

Senior Tessa Di Cesare is a second-year staff reporter and first-year Our World editor for “The Spotlight.” Throughout her time on the newspaper staff, she has dedicated much of her time and energy to ensuring the success of the publication. Tessa decided to take Newspaper Journalism her junior year because she has always enjoyed writing. Before joining “The Spotlight,” she explored her interest in writing through diary entries and short stories. However, she never wrote fully developed articles. She knew Journalism would be the perfect challenge to hone her writing skills. Tessa has been in the journalism program for two years and is grateful for the tight-knit community of students on the staff. Some of her favorite memories are sitting in the Publication Lab with the editors and working on the issue together. Along with the team camaraderie, Tessa has also enjoyed the Pennsylvania School Press Association (PSPA) student journalism competitions. “Our annual PSPA regionals and states trip to Penn State are always super fun and memorable,” said Di Cesare. “I loved chatting the entire bus ride there, getting ice cream from the renowned Penn State Creamery, and getting to talk to all sorts of other publications’ staff reporters and editors.” As a member of the class for two years, Tessa has written plenty of articles. Her favorite was an Our World article titled “Exploring the linkage between lead and the Stanley water bottles.” It discussed the risk of lead in Stanley water bottles and how customers were reacting to this recent news. “I was super passionate about this topic, so I did lots and lots of research to ensure I could write a well-thought-out and informative article,” she said. “And even after the article was published, I got much positive feedback on it, which made it all the more memorable as one of my favorite articles of my journalism experience.” When Tessa is not journalism, she is involved in many clubs such as National Honor Society, Spartan Ambassadors, Teen Counseling, Operation Smile, and Athletes Against Hunger. Being part of Teen Counseling has always been light-hearted and fun for her and she looks back fondly on their monthly trips to the middle school. Because she was part of the program as a middle school student, she feels like becoming a Teen Counselor is a full circle moment. Outside of school, she spends most of her free time volunteering at Lehigh Valley Humane Society and ACCT Philadelphia, where she walks, trains, and fosters shelter dogs. Tessa is also a multi-sport athlete, running with the cross country team in the fall, and the track and field teams in the winter and spring. Throughout her four years as a Southern Lehigh athlete, she will have earned 11 varsity letters from her success. Along with her varsity letters she has had the privilege of being a two-time captain of the cross country team and a captain for the winter track and field team. Tessa has experienced challenges as an athlete, but she believes that the people around her make it worth it. “When you go through something so physically and mentally challenging, like running, you are bound to bond with those going through the same thing alongside you,” Di Cesare said. “In my experience, ‘bond’ is an understatement. Being a part of these three sports throughout high school has not only given me lifelong friendships, but I’ve also developed leadership skills, a stronger work ethic, and so many incredible memories.” Throughout high school, Tessa has learned from a lot of teachers and coaches, but one has impacted her life the most: Southern Lehigh track and field coach Mr. Cotie Strong, who is also our school psychologist. “For two seasons a year, from the time I entered high school until now, Coach Strong has been my coach, and the true backbone of my success,” Di Cesare said. “I have gone through highs and lows as a student-athlete, and in any case of a mental block, Coach Strong has been there, supporting me, and pushing me to become the best version of myself— whether that’s on the track, or off of it.” When Tessa graduates in May, she plans to attend the University of New Hampshire where she will major in Information Systems and Data Analytics, and minor in Marketing. As Tessa reflects on the past four years she cannot encourage the underclassmen enough to put themselves out there. She urges them to join the clubs they are passionate about, take the class they’ve been wanting to take, and go to that football game. “I guarantee you’ve all had at least one conversation with an adult or elder where they’ve expressed how much they loved high school and would love to be back in those years,” said Di Cesare. “Set yourself on a path to where you are able to reminisce on your high school experience, and feel that same feeling of nostalgia, rather than regret.”

Alexis Behrens has been an enthusiastic member of the Spotlight since the very beginning of her time at Southern Lehigh High School. As a freshman, she was eager to take on extra articles to help out the publication and was affectionately known as “the overachiever” of the group. When she eventually joined the editorial team, she was excited to leave her mark on the publication, creating a new front page and layout elements for the print issue. Throughout her time as a writer for the Spotlight, her passion has been constant. Aside from journalism, Alexis has stayed involved in her school and local community. At SLHS, Alexis is a member of National Honor Society, Teen Counselors, and Spartan Ambassadors. In her spare time, she spends time with her church’s youth group, picks up new books to read, and enjoys paddle boarding locally (but mostly just hitting up her favorite Chinese food buffet). As Alexis prepares to graduate in May, she is excited to study International Relations in the fall at George Washington University as a part of their Honors Program. She hopes to use her degree to either become a foreign service officer or work in international relations for a global company. Her interest in international relations stems from her love of learning new languages, traveling to foreign places, and exploring new cultures. Alexis became fluent in Spanish through Southern Lehigh’s Spanish Immersion program, and she volunteers on mission trips with her church. In the past four years as part of the Spotlight staff, Alexis has held different editorial positions, and worked her way up to hold the title of Co-Editor-in-Chief. She has written across every section of the newspaper, covering everything from war conflicts in Ukraine to celebrity controversies surrounding the live-action film “Snow White.” More than anything, her time as a leader on The Spotlight has shown Alexis the true value of collaboration. “I think the greatest lesson that being part of the Spotlight has taught me is working with other students to create something that we can all be proud of,” said Behrens. “It was really fun figuring out what other students wanted to write about, and helping them make that happen. And in the end, when we all went out to hand out the newspapers, everyone was proud of what they did.” As an editor, Behrens has helped the Spotlight earn numerous Best of School Newspaper Online (SNO) Awards for the monthly staff editorial. She is not afraid to delve into a story or argue her opinion, helping her staff earn national recognition. Individually, Alexis also placed first in the state in the category of news writing, at the 2024 Pennsylvania School Press Association student journalism competition during her junior year. “It was a really nice way to be able to finish out my junior year,” said Behrens. “And, since I’ve been working on trying to be a better news writer, it was a nice way to…see some improvement over the years.” Although Alexis originally joined the Spotlight because of her interest in writing, she also found a new talent in graphic design. In the past year as Co-Editor-in-Chief, she has breathed new life into the page design of the Spotlight, creating eye-catching graphics and photo collages that highlighted the annual Homecoming Dance, Multicultural Fair, and Fashion Show. As an editor, Alexis has enjoyed many Block 3 classes in the publications lab with her fellow editors. Through the stress of deadlines, she appreciates the pub lab for the camaraderie it creates. “We would all sit around the table, and it was really fun to talk with everyone about things that really never related to journalism,” said Behrens. “I think my favorite memory with that would probably be when Kishore spilled all the coffee, and it smelled like coffee in that room. It smelled like coffee in the room for ages.” As a dedicated student and involved community member, Alexis has felt the weight of her commitments. As she looks toward the future, she remembers a silly piece of advice that one of her English teachers, Mrs. Lauren Tocci, offered. “I really liked one thing Mrs. Tocci said way back in 10th grade. She was like, sometimes ‘we’re all riding the struggle bus,’ and it’s nice to remember that like we all have our things that we’re going through, and regardless, we still have to help each other and help ourselves overcome that.”