Dear Reader, 

Since March, we have faced personal and professional challenges that we never would have expected. The last several months have really left us all with certain uneasiness. For college students, nervousness about our future is nothing new, but recent events have brought us into a completely new territory. 

With that, I would like to share some advice my former editor-in-chief Waid once shared: go beyond your comfort zone. 

This is not at all how I thought my junior year would begin. How I came to be editor-in-chief is very different from those who came before me, and though I feel like I have some big shoes to fill, I look to my past editors-in-chief for guidance and comfort. They encouraged me and pushed me as a journalist and I am so grateful for their friendship.  

The Alabamian has been my home since I got on campus; it’s where I’ve found my people and a passion for a job I love. Making the connections I have so far has brought me so much joy.  

I encourage you to make those connections at Montevallo because you never know what it might bring you. It might bring you what it brought me. 

I never knew how much I would miss the people I pass on the bricks every day until I didn’t pass them. My roommate and dearest friend, the people I’ve cheered on at intramurals and I eat lunch with in the dining hall continue be a gift to my experience at Montevallo.  

Though it is very hard to wrap my head around the changes that are to come, I refuse to let fear and anxiety weigh me down. Ultimately, I am so excited to see what we do here on The Alabamian in the coming year because even under these circumstances, these writers and my staff have the moxie and a drive to find the truth. 

In this issue, you’ll see evidence of this; the wide range of stories we cover offer the opportunities for people to see themselves in our publication. I encourage you to continue to follow us on social media and pick up an issue whenever you see it. 

Looking ahead at the semester, I am optimistic because I believe in myself and my team. No matter what happens, I know that this year will be something to be proud of. 

Zoe Hall, editor-in-chief