To be a Gaveler at the end of each spring semester is a strangely melancholy experience. The Gavel itself operates on a calendar year rather than following the school calendar, meaning we leave Chestnut Hill each spring with the calming assurance that we will see familiar faces in the Fall. Yet it’s inevitable that we must say our goodbyes to our graduating seniors each spring.
The Gavel consists of five sections of writers– Features, Opinions, Culture, News, and Sports– as well as our essential operative sections of Copy, Business, and Creative. While each section has its unique initiatives and inner workings, we come together as a newspaper and as our own community of students committed to promoting progressive values at Boston College and beyond. There are countless members who have made The Gavel a home and a safe space, especially the graduating seniors. This article is dedicated to them.
Q: What is your favorite Gavel memory?
Sofia Smith (Former Editor-in-Chief & Features Head Editor): “The Great Gavel Covid Scare of 2021 and the Second Great Gavel Covid Scare of 2022.”
Ava Kester (Opinions Staff Writer): “Hanging out with Maggie and Jill.”
Kyra Johnson (Interim Copy Section Head, Culture Staff Writer): “Bringing a copious amount of chicken nuggets to Gavel formal.”
Q: What are you pursuing post-grad? Where are you headed, location-wise?
Sofia: I’ll be doing a Masters program at BU Medical School before hopefully going to medical school! I want to pursue reproductive health, specifically.
Ava: “I’ll be working in Manhattan post-grad for a couple years, and then going back to get my masters in public policy.”
Kyra: “Just living the best life I can while working a regular 9-5—for now! Eventually, I hope to find my way into publishing in creative writing, ideally for novels and/or video games. I’m also moving away from my hometown of Los Angeles to Denver!”
Q: Where do you see yourself in ten years?
Sofia: “In ten years, I see myself in residency, hopefully delivering babies! I also see myself in a sick NYC apartment with chalkboard walls.”
Ava: “Hopefully working in Washington D.C.”
Kyra: “Being able to point to whatever amount of creative projects I’ve done over the years and say hey, I made something cool, and that something cool impacted someone positively. Also living wherever it is I wind up at, and owning at least two cats.”
Q: Any words of wisdom for the rest of us Gavelers?
Sofia: “Write the article that might get you in trouble, it’ll be your favorite one.”
Ava: “Pay attention to what you like to pay attention to.”
Kyra: “It’s okay to, like me, accept that you might not immediately settle into the perfect career you envisioned when you started at BC, whether you’re on a pre-professional track or not. It’s great to have that ambition and pursue it as best as you’re able to, but if you find yourself getting burned out, it’s not worth your wellbeing to buy into the sunk cost fallacy and obsess over getting that internship or filling up your resume. Taking some time post-grad to work an uninteresting 9-5 is okay—that doesn’t mean you’re wasting your BC education. You’ll get where you want to be eventually. Everyone has different timelines. You’re not wasting anything if you’re focusing on your happiness, first and foremost. “
As a final motion of thanks, here are some of my personal favorite articles by the graduating senior class.
Striking Down an Equal Chance for Education by Ava Kester
There’s Hope for Boston’s Nightlife by Ainsley Brady
Eagles Take Down Michigan State in Back-to-Back Wins by Derek Wagner
BC For Harris Campaign Hopes to Make a Difference by Kate Karafin
Singing the Legacy of Spirituals in the University Chorale’s “Rock-A My Soul” Concert by Kyra Johnson
Good luck to the Gavelers of the Class of 2025!
Strawberry fanatic. Loves New Girl, Laufey, and making coffee.
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