Dear readers, loyal followers, or just passersby,

As I end my time at Forest Grove High School, I say goodbye to teachers, peers, and the Advocate. I have been a part of the Advocate team since I started out at Forest Grove as a young, naive freshman. Since then I have grown and so has the program. 

I saw my predecessor create and build a podcast and a weekly newsletter. Though the podcast may have gone on a hiatus, the Advocate grew in student and teacher voice and input throughout its pages this year. I worked hard to partner with other school programs to give them spots within the pages of the paper, through featuring art students to working with the business classes, the Advocate began to create partnerships within the school and community. 

Every goodbye is bittersweet, and though I was only Editor In Chief for one year, I was a part of the Advocate for four years. Four years of staying up writing and editing articles, questioning grammar and the laws of writing, while making friends and growing relationships within the class. I enjoyed reading new articles every edition, often learning new facts or reading stories that pulled me in from the first line. 

I feel like a proud parent saying goodbye to their kid as they go off to college as I passed down the Advocate to its new editors and Co-Editor In Chiefs. Hazel Smith and Gwen Woods have shown their brilliance within the realm of writing and a creative way of working together to accomplish tasks. I am excited to move forward with my next chapter of life and to see what these two have in store for the Advocate. 

Thank you for reading this year, 

Micaela Gaither

The Former Editor In Chief