Each year, May rolls around and reality hits; the seniors are about to graduate and one more year of highschool is ending. This year proves to be no different, especially for the Pelladium. Our staff is graduating 7 seniors this year!

Bryleigh De Jong joined the Pelladium staff her sophomore year, and she was an editor for the newspaper during her senior year. Bryleigh is known for starting conversations with everyone in class and being able to recite almost every line of Pitch Perfect. Bryleigh covered anything asked of her and specialized in editing pages. 

Maggie Leach has been on the staff since her junior year. Maggie was smiling in class each day and her laugh is extremely contagious. Maggie was a key reporter during her time on the staff. She was willing to do assignments about various topics, and she created vlogs about her unique experiences as Miss Iowa’s Outstanding Teen. 

Tatum Tierney joined the staff her freshman year. We found out we had to say goodbye to Tatum a year early due to her decision to graduate early. It’s a bittersweet goodbye, but the staff is excited for her future. Tatum is very well known for her stylish outfits. She wrote articles and created videos about fashion throughout the years. Tatum served as assistant web editor for a year, and as web editor during her final year.

Lastly, we have 4 seniors who joined us for a short period of their senior year. Matt DeKoning, Zane McSheehy, Lily Wisse and Thea Wisse all spent time in the class to finish out their senior year. Matt, originally joined during his freshman year, and was on the staff through sophomore year. After that, he took a break and came back to join us for the end of the year. He specialized in stories surrounding bowling and cars. Zane focused on creating podcasts and videos, partially due to his ‘announcer voice.’ Lily and Thea joined the team and were willing to do anything they were asked. Together they created vlogs, wrote Q&A’s, and were almost always together.

The Pelladium staff is grateful for the seniors who joined us during their highschool career. We wish them the best of luck with all their future endeavors.