The idea to interview Rose Carlson came from a joke. “What if I interviewed my editor in chief? Could you believe it?” But the stranger the idea the more intrigued I became; I began to think that getting to know her might be a worthy endeavor for the both of us.

One ten minute interview over and I had a new found respect for Carlson, one that ran deeper than the surface. I found that her story is one others needed to hear, so they can have the experience I did. Being able to find yourself less alone in your journey through high school.

We started where most stories usually start, at the beginning, or otherwise known as summer of 2021. In the midst of Covid and life changing decisions, Carlson was stuck in between personal interests and high expectations.

Ever since she was young she always envisioned herself graduating with an IB Diploma. “ It was a real conflict between what I saw myself as what I should do, what other people thought I should do, what they expected me to do, what I expected myself to do, which was to pursue the IB diploma.”

This battle between self was hard but at the end Carlson chose to trust her instincts. “…that was maybe one of the hardest decisions I’ve made in high school, and maybe one of the best decisions I’ve made in high school.” 

Today she is the editor in chief of the school newspaper, the Vidette, works on the morning show, and theater. Carlson is the picture of what a McCaskey student is; involved, creative, and always learning.

To the underclassmen, Carlson advises to sometimes take a break, because you might want to do everything all of the time and excel at it, but “..it’s okay to just do okay, you don’t have to do everything to the max. Middle school me wouldn’t have been able to do that…that’s really powerful.” This isn’t to say you should not be ambitious, but it is saying that when you fall down, you deserve to give yourself some grace. 

To get the best out of your high school experience, Carlson emphasizes the importance of being aware of every option. “Go to the McCaskey Instagram and click the link.” There you will find sources on sources on every program and class available at our campus. 

McCaskey is a great place to go on this high school journey. Carlson spoke about how our diversity is an advantage, “…[there is]  a lot of strength, worth, intelligence and bravery coming from different backgrounds…”

Carlson shares more about her passions as a Tornado, saying, “At the Vidette I try to represent McCaskey, that’s why I love the morning show and the Vidette…it’s all about representation and helping students…I learned a lot  about how to talk to people and how different people can be and still connect by listening and just empathy.”

With this issue’s focus on celebrating McCaskey, you should look inwards and also celebrate yourself. Find your path here using your heart and trust it. McCaskey will rally behind you.