Julio Canimo
Multimedia Associate Editor, Senior Staff Writer

“The best four years of your life.”

The toughest four years of your life.

Longing for community, you struggle to make friends, do your homework, find love, feed yourself, drink water — stop.

Your dim lamp illuminates a cramped, stuffy, three-person dorm at 3 a.m. Amid the darkness, snores echo throughout the room. Is this really the only source of light to be found?

The most confusing four years of your life.

Reconciling creativity, your future, your passions. The strum of a low E string on a guitar bounces off the walls of the Democracy Lab. Voices echo toward you over the radio waves, giving you conflicting instructions. Who do you listen to?

The first four years of your life.

What matters to you? Who matters to you? Take what you love and run with it. You are never meant to be who you are meant to be right away.

Love can and has found you in the past. Don’t wait. Take your time, but be grateful. Be grateful you have found your home.

To The Guardian and everyone in it, thank you for being my home. Thank you for opening my eyes to what my writing can be, and what it can do for my future. In the words of the Talking Heads: “Home is where I want to be but I guess I’m already there. I guess that this must be the place.”

For The UCSD Guardian, KSDT Radio, and the comm department, I’m Julio Canimo. Thank you for listening.

Carter Castillo
News Editor

I joined The Guardian as a news writer during a very difficult period in my life, but I never could have imagined just how much this decision would change the trajectory of my life. It has been one of my greatest honors to serve the UCSD community as News editor this year.

To Natalia, Giselle, and Natalie, I can think of no better trio to lead the News section into the future. Lillian, you are a valued ads director and an even better friend. To Sonia, thank you for being a fellow Survivor and La La Land fan. Finally, I would like to give a special shoutout to Adalia, who has been an editor in chief who will continue to take The Guardian to new heights.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that independent journalism is under threat in the United States, including from our very own government. However, for those of us who have the means to continue reporting, it is not only our duty but our responsibility to continue to report on the news, regardless of any possible repercussions. That is why I am so proud to call myself a member of the premier independent student newspaper at UCSD.

Allen Chen
Art Co-Editor

When I first joined The Guardian Art section as a freshman, I just wanted to meet other artists. The pandemic had wiped out most art clubs, and I was itching to draw with others. At my first interview, Angela — the editor then — handed me a sketchbook and some kind words that kicked off my journey in visual journalism.

In those early years, I fell in love with our art team — Nick, Ava, and Michelle. Beyond article illustrations, we bonded over doodle times, boba runs, and way too much Gartic Phone. Thank you guys so much for making the art team feel like home.

Later on, I learned how fun it is to be so deeply involved with the university community — branching out, working alongside writers and photographers to tell student stories to the best of our abilities. We’ve been through some crazy stuff together: from covering Palestine protests to chicken-eating contests, deportations, and referendums, it’s been incredible watching everyone at The Guardian pouring out their talents to bring such a wide range of stories to life with passion and care.
To my amazing art team — Roxana, Stephania, Cindy, Catherine, Sebrina, Ela, Charlize, Ryan, Janissa, Shawnee, Jenniver, Isaiah, Nina, Serene, and Rylee — I’m so proud of you all! Your creativity and talent inspire me all the time, and I know you’ll do amazing things.

And to everyone at The Guardian: It’s been chaotic, joyful, and unforgettable. Thank you for everything — it’s been such a blast doodling for you guys, and I love you all so so so much!

Isabela Contreras
Senior Staff Writer

Writing has been my passion ever since I was little. I was so grateful to be accepted into The Guardian during my second year at UCSD; I was so excited to join the other Lifestyle writers whose works I so admired. 

I wrote my debut article after I got broken up with for the first time in my life. It was petty, ridiculous, and genuinely so funny — which I only know because my older sisters begrudgingly admitted to me that it made them laugh. That article set the precedent for my writing voice. I love writing articles that are heartfelt but humorous, reflective, and rambunctious. Whenever I hit a block in my writing, I go back and reread that first one just to remind myself of how I truly sound when I write my best. 

Through writing here at The Guardian, I’ve learned so much about myself. I would have never explored some of the topics I ended up writing about if I hadn’t been encouraged to do so by my editors and Lifestyle team. I couldn’t have asked for a better time here. I am so grateful for being given this space to explore myself through what I love most. 

Michelle Deng
Art Co-Editor

Vivian Dueker
Managing Editor

I’ve sat down nearly every day this past week and tried to find the words to express what The Guardian means to me, to somehow convey the weight of my love for it, or to synthesize everything that I’ve learned over the last four years — and it’s felt impossible. I tried to come up with a list of concrete lessons that I’m leaving with, of skills I’ve developed, or of all the people who have had an impact on me — but I don’t think the way that The Guardian changed me is quite so tangible. To be immersed in a community like The Guardian, surrounded by people who are curious, passionate, thoughtful, and zealous, is to fundamentally change. Every word I’ve written and read, every edit made, every conversation, conflict, and challenge I’ve confronted or witnessed, has changed me. I understand more about who I am and want to be, who I want to surround myself with, and what it means to tell stories. 

I can’t possibly recount all the hours I’ve spent sitting in The Guardian office after dark, leaving comments and emoji reactions on articles, transcribing last minute interviews, and running hundreds (yes, literally hundreds — we counted!) of meetings over just this past year. But I wouldn’t take it back for the world. I’m deeply grateful I had the opportunity to work with such an incredible staff — a production team willing to give up their every Sunday, writers who endure rounds and rounds of tough edits, an editorial board so devoted to our mission that we passed a referendum. … The list goes on. I am bursting with pride for the work we’ve done this year to platform student voices and ensure the free press persists at UCSD, and it’s hard to believe that I’m leaving at all. I’m heavy-hearted, but undeniably fulfilled. I can’t wait to see what you all do next.

Miriya Huie
Features Editor

Joining The Guardian was one of the first things I did when I arrived at UCSD. I wasn’t particularly drawn to journalism itself; instead, I was looking for any kind of preprofessional writing experience on campus. My joining of The Guardian, and especially Features, was largely coincidental.

I’ve learned so much over the four years I’ve spent here. From my first mess of an article to learning how to run and build a section to leading a good part of the P.R.E.S.S. referendum campaign and understanding firsthand how much journalism means to so many people — both the editorial staff who kept me sane through the process and the 20.9% of voters who cast a vote and reached the minimum voter threshold — I couldn’t imagine my college experience without it. The Guardian has truly transformed into something better in the time I’ve been here, and it’s been incredibly rewarding to be a part of the journey. I can’t wait to see where it goes from here, even if it’s from afar.

So, to Adalia, Viv, Abby, Sonia, Tommy, Kurt, Kokoro, Carter, Natalia, Sammy, Alan, the Features section as it’s existed over the years, and everyone else who’s been a part of the memories we’ve made, thank you for being part of an unforgettable part of my life.

Ryan Kirton
Senior Staff Writer

I was a late bloomer when it came to journalism — not recognizing this was something I was passionate about until my junior year here at UCSD. Wanting to enhance my skills and build a portfolio, I reached out to The Guardian despite my very small expectations. I figured at best, I’d get to write maybe one or two articles per quarter, and at worst, have our editor scoff at my application before moving on to the next person.

Instead, I was accepted into our small yet mighty Sports family. While I got the opportunity to grow as a journalist, it was much more than just an unpaid writing gig. Getting to spend time with the other writers is something I’ll always remember fondly from my experiences at The Guardian, whether it was at trivia nights, Padres games, and even doing our new Sports chant to kick off our section meetings. Sorry, other sections, you’re just not as cool as us.

While my journalism experience is just beginning, I’ll never forget it all started with our friendly little school newspaper. Go Tritons!

Kelly Loo
Lifestyle Co-Editor

They say it’s not rejection, but redirection.

A little-known fact about me is that I tried joining The UCSD Guardian in my freshman year as a copy reader but was rejected because they were at capacity. Six months later, I was onboarded onto Lifestyle. Fate made the right decision for me; I truly love Lifestyle and what it has become!

To Sammy, your ability to go above and beyond is the reason why Lifestyle is such a strong section. To Camelia, I love your vision and passion for Lifestyle, and I will be cheering you on from the sidelines. To my Lifestyle team, thank you for adjusting and growing with me and Sammy. All of y’all are in good hands next year.

Peace out,
Kelly

Xuan Ly
A&E Co-Editor

I joined the Arts and Entertainment section in the Winter Quarter of my freshman year. Even though the meetings started at the dead of night (7 p.m.), we’d often stay long after the meeting had ended, discussing our favorite movies, new music, most memorable concert experiences, and everything in between. A&E was the joyous community that I had hoped to find in college, and I consider myself lucky to have found it so early.

Over the past two years as an A&E co-editor, it has been an honor to watch my writers and friends hone their writing style, each one with their own magic. A&E has gifted me with some of my hardest laughs, greatest friends, best reads, and my lovely boyfriend — for all of that and more, I am eternally grateful. I want to thank Jonathan for mastering the art of weekly meeting slides and for always bringing a smile to my face. I am so proud of our section and can’t wait to see what comes next as Gabbi takes the reins. Lots of love!!

Lina Mauk
Senior Staff Writer

Nothing quite matches up with the camaraderie that existed in the A&E section of The Guardian. Within my first quarter at UCSD, this lovable gaggle of writers quickly became one that I couldn’t get enough of being around. Each week, I looked forward to being asked some ridiculous ice-breaker and trying to come up with some equally ridiculous answer, always putting my creative thinking skills to the test.

Xuan, Jonathan, and retired A&E editor Kamiah read and edited dozens of my articles, which were often deeply personal reflections on my experiences with music. They never failed to make me misty-eyed going back through my article to see heartfelt comments sprinkled all over it, allowing me to feel more seen and heard than ever. Turning to the next chapter of my life, I’ll miss the banter between Xuan and Jonathan, Matthew pulling up in stylish sweaters made by his mom, and most of all, the laughter that was shared in that office. What comes next is a mystery, but I didn’t know I would join The Guardian until it found me, so I trust that, once again, great people, memories, and experiences lie just ahead.

Erika Myong
Senior Staff Writer

As I reflect on my time at The UCSD Guardian, I am filled with deep gratitude for the multitude of opportunities it afforded me. My passion for books, film, and music not only expanded beyond the comfort of familiar spaces, but it also encouraged me to explore new realms I might have never entered otherwise. For instance, what began as a casual curiosity in classical music evolved into a genuine appreciation for local symphonies — an interest nurtured and shaped by my experience with the Arts & Entertainment section. 

However, beyond the privilege of writing my opinions and reviews on pop culture, the most enduring aspect of my time with A&E has been the sense of community. Every meeting was always filled with laughter and exciting discussions. The shared enthusiasm among the team during our time together became a consistent highlight of every academic quarter.

Being part of The UCSD Guardian has been a source of both pride and inspiration throughout my college experience. While I feel bittersweet to part with a community that has meant so much, I am excited to see the continued growth and success of this wonderful staple to the campus community.

Karina Oquendo
Contributing Writer

As I sit down and reflect on my experience writing for The UCSD Guardian these past five months, the only thing that really comes to mind is that I wish I had joined earlier. Who knew that applying to write for the Features section would eventually lead to me kayaking in Mission Bay’s Kendall-Frost Marsh? Or being invited to a special media preview of Birch Aquarium’s biggest renovation in decades? My time as a Features writer has been invaluable to me, brief as it was. It helped me develop my skills in writing, editing and interviewing — turns out, going up to total strangers and asking them to chat about the things they’re passionate about is loads of fun! As someone who’s always enjoyed the creative process of writing, I’m super grateful that I had this opportunity to form a deeper connection to this campus and its people. The immense pride I felt after getting one of my articles published is something I’ll never forget. I will miss The Guardian, and I hope that, in the future, I’ll be able to take the self-confidence I’ve gained as a writer and carry it with me wherever I go. 

Matthew Pham
Senior Staff Writer

In some ways, joining The Guardian was entirely an accident. I simply wanted to hang out with one of my best friends (my editor, Xuan!) because I felt as if I wouldn’t be able to see them as much going into third year. But in my attempt at maintaining my friendship, I’ve met a plethora of wonderful folks, interviewed some of my favorite bands and shows, and most importantly, been able to express everything I have to say as a burgeoning adult in this world. 

Xuan and Jonathan, thank you for everything. Gabbi, Thi, Lina, Tara, and the future A&E section, go be the most fantastic section of all time. For everyone else in The Guardian, keep killing it. I love every one of you. 

Being in the A&E section, it may not have been the most prescient of topics, but it is important that we all keep the creative spark, and the need for intellectual and introspective analysis of art, alive. I hope our little, quaint section was able to light that curiosity, even just a tiny bit.

Until next time, then!

Samantha Phan
Lifestyle Co-Editor

Being in The UCSD Guardian is really lame. Like seriously, what kind of person spends all their time in a dingy old office, where pay is low and sanity is nonexistent, to make something as banal as a newspaper? Apparently me. And I loved every second of it.

To my favorite bunch of losers: thank you. Brad, for showing me what it means to live life in style. My team, for being the silliest, funniest, most talented divas I know. My fellow editors, for always being journalism nerds (and the production team for being extra nerdy). Adalia and Viv, for leading us. Kelly, for being my co, my friend, my rock.

And to everyone staying: Coming together to make a paper every week takes dedication, passion, and grit — three traits that can only be found in a bunch of precocious losers who care about the truth. It’s loser-stuff to give up your evenings, weekends, free time, and soul. Keep it up.

Thank you for the lamest four years of my life. I love you guys.

One last time,
Samantha Phan
Outgoing Lifestyle Co-Editor
Yogurt Enthusiast

Alex Reinsch-Goldstein
Multimedia Associate Editor, Senior Staff Writer

I found out about The UCSD Guardian the way most people do: after running through the chaparral, eating the leaves off various unidentifiable and potentially toxic plants, I experienced a powerful vision in which a giant goat devil told me to visit the second floor of the Old Student Center, where my destiny awaited. When I got there, I beheld the entire Guardian Editorial Board standing on a table, trying to appease the swarm of ravenous gnomes who really run things. I knew right away that this was the place for me. 

My two years at The Guardian taught me a few things. One, maybe the real journalism was the friends we made along the way. Two, people say the darndest things (yes, this is about the quote book). Three, always be making money moves (passing referendums).

A few thank yous: firstly, to Adalia and Viv, for investing me with the immense and earth-shattering power to plan office functions, and for bearing with me when I’m on top of a mountain during production; secondly, to Miriya and Abby, for humoring me as I blow through deadlines like the Kool-Aid man through walls; thirdly, to the Copy team for putting spaces on either side of my em-dashes (approximately 1,000 per article); and fourthly, lastly, and certainly-not-leastly, to Mehri and Julio, for making multimedia massively marvelous. It’s been real y’all!

Mehri Sadri
Multimedia Editor

I’m pretty sure I joined The UCSD Guardian on a whim, failing to even publish a complete article in  2021. Almost four years later, I’ve published over 20 articles for news, (re)started UCSD’s Multimedia department as Editor, and met a lot of cuties, too. Doing data science, I probably won’t need to ever recall AP Style, go up to random students during Library Walk for a reel, or split a clip in a completely perfect spot in Canva Pro, and I can’t believe that I might actually miss it a little bit! Thank you to everyone for letting me express my creative side, a side that helped inform readers and integrate thousands of students into their campus community.

Mehak Sahota
Senior Staff Writer

When I first joined The Guardian as a shy but optimistic freshman, I was longing for a way to express myself creatively. I found my passion for reading and writing in high school, but never put aside time to write for anything other than school. When I got to UCSD, I swore things were going to be different. I joined the Lifestyle section eager to share my thoughts on anything and everything! 

However, the reality of being a college student overwhelmed me. After writing countless essays and research papers, picking up my laptop to keep writing was the last thing I wanted to do. Rather than being fatigued, I knew I was more scared of putting my work out there for others to judge. Slowly but surely, I started to outgrow this mindset. The Guardian was the perfect outlet for me to grow as a writer throughout my time at UCSD, albeit infrequently. With each article, putting myself out there became less and less daunting. Thank you to The Guardian for serving as a space for me to share my thoughts, even when I thought no one would want to listen! 

Jonathan Shlesinger
A&E Co-Editor

To think I’ve been a part of The Guardian for over three years is insane, but mostly because of how quickly it all went by. In a lot of ways, though, I think the constant flux of people and voices makes it all so fun. It’s a privilege to grow as a writer under others — for that, I thank Elias and Hector — and a privilege to grow alongside others — for that I thank Xuan. Never would I have imagined becoming a co-editor, and it has been incredible to do so alongside one of my favorite people I’ve ever gotten to know on this campus. 

Through A&E, I have met kind, talented, and passionate people who show up and get together simply because they like to write about art that inspires them. It is a perfect little community that I hope stays happy and healthy until the end of time. At the very least, I am confident that our new editor, Gabbi, will ensure it stays special for the year to come. 

I am so thankful for The Guardian for allowing me the space to write; it’s a practice I’ll keep, wherever life takes me. 

Arshia Singh
Senior Staff Writer

There’s a drawer in my childhood bedroom that is packed to the brim with old journals. I’d spend hours filling them with goofy stories, not a page ever wasted. They weren’t very good, I’m sure, but they were mine.

When I first arrived at UCSD, I was completely set on studying neurobiology and going forward on the premed track, but one grueling quarter of general chemistry was all it took for me to realize I was entirely wrong. By my second year, I changed my major to literature/writing — quite the jump, but I couldn’t picture the rest of my days filled with anything else — and joined The UCSD Guardian.

Being a part of A&E was the first time I allowed myself to believe in the work I was doing, and possibly even believe in myself. It was a space for that 12-year-old who daydreamed and watched too much TV — let’s be real, the 22-year-old, too — to talk about the things she loves. Art was essential to me back then, and even more so today. We need creative outlets, we need spaces to be weird! To the younger me who never stopped writing, this one’s for you.

Dave Vo
Design Co-Editor

When I look through my massive Guardian newspaper collection, it reminds me of all the formative memories I’ve had here in my tenure. I got to meet so many interesting journalists who are passionate about advocating for community voices. Designing for journalism is such a unique opportunity and gave me a deeper appreciation of why journalism is the backbone of the human experience. It’s not everyday that I’m powering through productions while listening to “Coconut Mall” and “Tokyo Drift.” 

It’s amazing to see The Guardian become such an important fixture in the UCSD ecosystem and Design taking a more serious role in the newspaper’s look and feel overall.

In homage to Design’s ability to strike fear in the hearts of others,

The sun shall set

Designer magenta™ shall call

I will strike from production

And InDesign shall fall!