I am incredibly thankful for to be able to be a member in this truly world class program we have here at Orange. We really are unbelievably lucky to have the opportunity to learn and gain experience that many other kids may not even get to learn until college. For all that, I am truly blessed.
I also would like to thank both Mrs. Phillips and Mr. Nicola for inspiring me to do more and more in this field. Without them, I honestly don't know where I would be today. In fact, before I started this program, I had no idea what I wanted to do later in life, but because of this amazing opportunity I have, It is now clear what I want to do.
I feel that I have achieved much more than I ever would have thought I would in my first year. I have written stories for all eight of the Courier Online Issues, as well as helped write a story for the last issue for The Courier of the school year, and a Q&A style story for the upcoming Froshbook.
And in Broadcast, I have produced or stared in over 18 news packages and interviews, including multiple Courier Online commercials, as well as become a frequent anchor for this state of the art news program.
I am very lucky to be able to take multiple leadership roles for next year, including section editor for the News portion of The Courier, as well as Head of news prep and video production for Web Journalism. To be able to have this opportunity is truly an honor.
Best of all, I can't wait to get Orange's first of a kind Radio Station up and running. It has been months of work in the making, and too see it all come together will be an incredible accomplishment.
I have been given a lot of power, freedom, and responsibility with this large scale project, as it is a whole new branch of the Orange Media family. To give back to the whole program, I want to pass the freedom onto everyone else in all journalism classes.
You see, I don't want this to be my radio station, or only a few people's station. I want everyone to have an opportunity to experiment, learn, leave their comfort zone, or maybe even find a new interest. I want everyone to have the opportunity to create a show, or segment based on what they find interesting.
There are no limits to what we can do with this. You see, with our amazing video news, we've always been time limited. With radio, there will be no time limit. In fact, there will be no limits at all! As long as it is school appropriate, you can help produce your own segment! It truly is limitless. It does not matter if you are in Broadcast, Web, Courier, or Yearbook. Everyone can be a part of this.
So there you have it. I have worked incredibly hard to help bring this together. Success will always generate from opportunity, you just have to find that opportunity, and take it. Everyone can be successful if they want, don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't. I want to pass on this opportunity, and give everyone a chance to be successful. Orange, I hope you enjoy OUR new radio station. Thank you for this opportunity, and everything else you have done for me. I won't let you down.
- Cole Patterson, '20
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