Over the past three years, I have been lucky enough to work with a group of incredible people on the Green and Gray newspaper. Every year, I am amazed by the commitment, hard work, and creativity of the Green and Gray team. On top of a busy school year complicated even further with COVID-19, students spent hours writing, editing, and designing the newspaper. Each final product was the culmination of so much work and collaboration, and I couldn’t be more proud of what we have accomplished. 

 For the first time in Berkshire’s history, the Green and Gray also has a website. Darran Shen ’20, the Editor-in-Chief last year, set the idea into motion last year, with the help of Aimi Sekiguchi ’20, and Michael Hayes. We originally created a separate section of the Berkshire School website for the paper. This year, we took the leap to an independent website, which went live for the first time in February. This milestone could never have happened without the help from Wilson Zheng ’21, Samantha Bernstein ’22, Sarah Pitcher-Hoffman, Peter Giordano, Mr. Hayes, Jason Epstein, Ms. Maher, and so many others. 

 At the beginning of the year, I was worried that there wouldn’t be enough interest for a paper. Darran and Aimi left very large shoes to fill, and with the COVID-19 pandemic, writers were spread out across the globe, in different time zones and different countries. But that worry was for nothing, because 17 writers, 3 editors, and 2 layout editors all came together to produce the October issue. 

 Seven months later, the Green and Gray leadership for next year has begun to take charge. The newspaper will be passed into the very competent hands of Samantha Bernstein. She was one of the first to push for the online newspaper, and has been an invaluable teammate for the past year. I’m sure that the Green and Gray will thrive under her command. 

 Wakaba Aihara ’22 will be taking over as layout editor, after working with Wilson Zheng ’21 for the past year. Her creativity and vision has been incredibly valuable. And Sanjna Srinivasan ’22 will be our Senior Editor. She has been one of the hardest workers on the newspaper, always asking me what else she can do and going the extra mile. They will be joined by three new editors, Sierra Posey ’22, Danielle Page ’23, and Catherine Yan ’24. I have the utmost confidence in their leadership next year. 

 None of this could have happened without all of the students who put their time and effort into coming up with ideas, interviewing people, researching, writing, and revising. I especially want to thank Wakaba Aihara, Samantha Bernstein, Sanjna Srinivasan, Will Esposito’22, Charlotte Turner ’22, Kyron Stevenson ’24, and Angella Ma ’24 for their participation in every issue this year. 

 Of course, no newspaper can survive without its editors, and The Green and Gray has some of the best. I have never once had to worry about the quality of editing when it is up to Matea Beadle ’21, Samantha Bernstein ’22, and Sanjna Srinivasan ’22. 

 Wilson Zheng, our Publisher-in-Chief, has been the best partner for the past year. Designing the newspaper is a task I could never do, and I am so impressed by every layout he puts out. Finally, I want to thank the newspaper’s advisers, Ms. Pitcher-Hoffman and Mr. Giordano. Your advice and oversight makes the newspaper possible. Thank you for all the time you dedicated to this newspaper and for genuinely caring about how it turns out. 

 To everyone who has contributed to the newspaper, thank you for working with me for the past few years. It has been an amazing experience, and I have learned so much. I look forward to following the Green and Gray and seeing where it goes in the future! 

Best, 

Megan Mokriski ’21