This past year has been unpredictable, unprecedented and unplanned for The Wolf. Our two editors-in-chief, seniors Teagan Gaviola and Emma J Nelson, have led the entire staff through this year’s transition to being an online-only publication — among other logistical challenges. Therefore, it’s only fitting that they get the last word in 2021’s final Meet The Wolf!

Q: What has been your proudest moment on staff?

Emma J Nelson: “Sophomore year, when we were being told by Lacy about what positions we were getting, she pulled us into her office and we were the only ones who went in her office together except the editors-in-chief for the next year. And she told us that Teagan would be copy editor and I would be opinion editor for our junior year, but we’d be getting trained to be editors-in-chief for our senior year.”

Teagan Gaviola: “Yeah, it definitely brought the realization that people can see my potential, and they see how I was capable. It was a very validating experience.”

Q: Do you have a ride or die favorite article?

E: “It was me comparing the LGBTQ representation in Disney movies vs. LAIKA movies and whether or not I felt it was enough. And, something about writing that and having that be my exit out of writer’s block just felt so good. Especially with it being a topic that, at the time, my family was debating.”

T: “I would say that my Complexities of Allyship article has a spot in my heart.”

Q: Where are you two headed after Tualatin?

E: “Teagan and I are both going to the University of Oregon!”

T: “Yeah, we’re going to the same school!”

Q: Any advice for next year’s staff?

T: “Communication really saves newspaper every single year. I think communication on a professional basis — talking with your editors and Lacy all the time — is good, but also communication on a social level because newspaper is a community.”

E: “The editing staff are your friends, but they are also your colleagues. So it’s important to have camaraderie and respect. It should be friendly, but also professional. It cannot cross the line. We don’t need drama getting in the way of putting out a good piece of work.”

Q: What are you the most sad about saying goodbye to when it comes to The Wolf?
T: “Oh, Lacy. She is like my school mother. Lacy is someone who has taught me so many things. Not just on a teacher level, but on a human being level. She’s just such an amazing, trustworthy woman, and I know I’m going to miss her.”

E: “Lisa Lacy! I sent her an email on Teacher Appreciation Day where I’m pretty sure I told her she was my friend, my mentor and my mother. I feel like I’m growing up and I wasn’t ready to, specifically in the fact that I’m going to be saying goodbye—not a permanent goodbye—to one of the people who made me who I am.”

For a final time and from the whole staff of these last three years, thank you, Emma J and Teagan. We will miss you and cannot wait to read the articles you work on for the University of Oregon’s student paper! Write on!