Photo credit: Audrey Chang

My press passes from the last two years are placed next to each other. As my senior year comes to a close, I reflected on my three years on The Oracle and how much this experience and community has meant to me.

“Do you have telepathy?” “Which one of you is evil?” As identical twins, my sister Annabelle and I have been asked some very strange questions. All our lives, people have assumed that because we look exactly alike, we are exactly alike. But, of course, like any two people, we’re not. My experiences as a twin have instilled in me the importance of feeling understood, especially since she knows me better than I know myself.

Because people tend to group us as “the twins” and often overlook our individual traits, I try to pay close attention to the particular qualities of everyone around me. I think this appreciation for distinct perspectives — and desire to understand what makes each person unique — is what drew me to journalism. 

I’ve always loved writing as a way to understand and tell stories, whether creating fictional worlds or analyzing texts in English classes over the years. Beginning my work with The Oracle, however, I was worried I would not be good at writing about real people, or even worse, expressing my own opinions. But with each article, I came to love covering issues important to me in a way that lets them take on a broader significance or impact in a community.

My first realization of this ability was with my “big story” feature — an assignment every reporter completes during their first year on staff — on the psychological impact of food allergies, which is something I have struggled with my whole life. When one of the teens I interviewed told me reading the final story made her feel less alone in her experience, I realized that journalism can make people feel understood, and I’ve tried to carry that mission throughout every interaction, interview and article I’ve worked on the last three years.

In addition to channeling my own passions and interests into my reporting — from book-banning and my experiences as a twin to climate change and the First Amendment’s impact on scholastic journalism — The Oracle has expanded my perspective through others’ stories, whether I’m writing about NCAA women’s basketball, art as activism, AI’s intersection with humanities or mental health challenges around the holidays.  

At the same time, the one-of-a-kind Oracle community made me feel appreciated. Everyone’s support made me more comfortable expressing my opinions on and off the page: in other classes, extracurriculars and my life generally. I started to understand that channeling my passions strengthens stories and makes them even more meaningful to me, making me much more confident in my writing and opinions.

As news editor and then editor-in-chief, I wanted to help create a space for other people to feel this way as well. This goal has been at the center of my leadership and why I am so grateful for my role. Through helping others edit and strengthen their pieces, celebrating each other’s accomplishments and getting to know our staff as individuals, I’ve hoped to help all reporters feel cared about and confident like I became due to other editors’ leadership.

One classic Oracle activity is “share the love,” where we shout out things we appreciate about people on staff — whether for taking an amazing featured image, experimenting with a new story form, giving helpful feedback or bringing positive energy to class. Now, I want to share the love with all of the passionate, dedicated reporters I’ve worked with over the last three years, to Ms. Taylor for making this the incredible program it is and to all of the editors I’ve worked with and who came before me — I’ve always looked up to and strived to emulate their leadership.

Through writing over 60 articles — as well as editing and publishing every Oracle article this year — I’ve seen how journalism can amplify a wide range of voices, as well as empower and connect communities of both readers and writers. One of the experiences I’ve most enjoyed on The Oracle has been getting to see other reporters get excited about journalism for the same reasons I do, and I’m incredibly grateful for this community I’ve looked forward to contributing to every day.

Beyond learning a concerning number of obscure AP style rules and having em-dashes infiltrate all forms of my writing, my journalism experiences have shaped me as a student, leader and person, as well as my passion for storytelling. Whether through taking communication classes or joining the newspaper in college, I’m excited to learn more about how to tell inclusive, meaningful stories.

Thank you, Oracle, for allowing me to explore what makes me unique as “just Audrey” and helping me realize that, in the future, I want to continue finding ways to listen to and support others so they can do the same.