Jonathan Spear, Senior at LRHS Mycenaean Staff Writer, Fall 2015- Spring 2018
Jonathan Spear, a staff writer for Leesville’s own Mycenaean newspaper, recently decided to leave the newspaper team in pursuit of other ventures.
With course schedules changing at the beginning of a new semester and the desire to have a three class course load for the spring, Spear retired from the newspaper after a two and a half year tenure. Though his column writing will be put on hiatus for the foreseeable future, his integral role within the program will live on for years to come.
Spear is in the presence of elite company as he leaves. Few writers for the paper have as diverse and as insightful articles (in some cases, videos) as he has.
A quick look at his Mycenaean portfolio naturally establishes his growth as a writer, from humble beginnings of his “Snapchat Unveils New Update” article to his “Our Planets Most Damaging Environmental Issues” and “Hiroshima: The Experience”, articles composed on the Exposure application. These thought provoking pieces genuinely garnered my attention for a large duration of my research.
On top of these works, Spear was a consistent videographer during his time spent in our creative nook in Room 240. “The Nur video [on his haircut business], the one Ben and I made last year, was probably the best video production I made. We went to his house over the course of three weeks to witness different haircuts, to interview those customers, and learn more about the business,” said Spear
Spear also provided a consistent output of both sports and student spotlight articles during his time here. “We have a unique opportunity in newspaper to reach out to the student body and interact with people you otherwise wouldn’t talk to.”
Aside from the typical “don’t procrastinate” mantra, Spear has some wise words for incoming students. “One piece of advice I would give to incoming newspaper students is to not be afraid to step outside your comfort zone. I think it’s easy, both in newspaper and in life, to associate with people and things that are familiar to you. By stepping out of this, you’ll be able to learn new things and see things through a new perspective. You might even find out you like something that you didn’t necessarily think you liked before,” said Spear.
“Newspaper pushed me to be creative and find things to cover that I didn’t even think of before,” said Spear. “My writing has improved, I’ve become better independently. It’s a collective effort at the end of the day, and newspaper encourages us to open up to new ideas and sacrifice our own for the greater good.”
