The first time I had the privilege of working with Inside Armonk was during the summer of 2022, when Grace Bennett graciously took me on as an intern which helped me gain some insight into the real world of journalism as I pitched story ideas, conducted interviews, wrote various articles, and had my first professional stories published. Having grown up in Bedford and graduated from Byram Hills High School in 2021, I had always seen the magazine come in and eagerly looked through it with my parents. That made me even more excited to contribute and see my name published in it. When Grace asked me to come on board as a guest editor for this spring edition, I was thrilled! While I knew it would be a challenge given my busy schedule as a sophomore at NYU studying Journalism and Politics, I knew it was also an experience I could not pass up.
The process of putting this magazine together has been stressful at times, but also incredibly rewarding. The creative freedom to think of story ideas, assign those ideas to our brilliant team of writers, contribute my own pieces, and work closely with Grace to bring everything together over the past few months has been a joy.
As we head into spring, my goal for this edition was to elicit the themes of hope and rebirth we find throughout this season. From our spotlight on the Byram Hills High School theatre department as it blooms back in the wake of the pandemic, to tips for planning your spring planting in order to create the most beautiful garden, to highlights of three local hiking destinations and the beautiful scenery that accompanies each, to personal reflections on Westchester life and developing a “green thumb,” each piece in this magazine was carefully selected and written with the Inside community in mind.
The experience of being ‘editor’ gave me a bird’s eye view of magazine work and I’m that much more excited about a future career in journalism. I am so proud of everything we have put together, and so grateful for this opportunity.
My hope for this season is that you all enjoy reading this edition as much as I enjoyed working on it!
– Illeana
