To the Lake Stevens Vikings,
We’ve been in second semester for less than a month, but that doesn’t mean incredible work hasn’t been done. “Nådeløse” means relentless, and I’ve seen everyone around me going the extra mile every day to be the best student and person they can be.
In the Journalism classroom, every member of the Valhalla staff has been putting in extra effort in order to keep up with how our work has grown over the past couple of weeks. Staff reporters are going above and beyond, writing two articles in this cycle, photographers get the opportunity to hone their camera skills by providing the photos for every piece and section editors continue to take on extra responsibilities while still managing to get all their work done.
Across the rest of the school, people are making strides at every turn. Over 700 Vikings were recognized for their excellence at the First Semester Awards Night and our Girls Wrestling team won the 4A state championship. At the state send off on Feb. 26, students from HOSA, DECA and the Girls Basketball team were cheered on as they made their way to their respective competitions. The Lip Dub is taking off yet again, spring sports are on the starting lines and Drama Club’s spring play, “Puffs,” is beginning to bloom.
Yet another sign of progress I saw in February was the student-organized walkout on Feb. 5 in protest of recent activity by ICE, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement. I am not here to state my personal political opinions, but I am here to recognize and state how proud I am of the students who participated. Being able to take a stand and act for what you believe in is an important skill for all to have, and I am glad that our generation hasn’t forgotten how to do so.
Finally, I’d be doing my last letter a disservice if I didn’t take a moment to reflect on my own progress this month. I’ve been working hard on my personal story, and recently hit over 23,000 words and coming up on 60 pages. I know that numbers aren’t what matters— it’s the quality of the words, what message they send and how they make a reader feel— but an easy way to look back and see how far I’ve come is checking that handy little word count tab. Seeing the number tick up slowly but surely is a reminder that I’m always making progress.
We’ve hit the ground running, and I can only hope this momentum carries on for the rest of the semester. I’m excited to see what everyone around me can do, no matter how big or small.
Your Editor-in-Chief and fellow Viking,
Star Knaak
