Student News Desk: Lily, Myla showcase leadership talents on Southeast newspaper

October 30, 2025

Lincoln Public Schools understands the importance of quality journalism to help inform our community and shine a light on the people, programs and events that make our school district unique. Student News Desk is our ongoing effort to promote excellence in journalism and public education by highlighting student journalists from our high school publications classes. This month’s spotlight is on Southeast High School juniors Myla and Lily, who are co-editors of The Clarion newspaper. Congratulations, Lily and Myla!

Southeast High School juniors Myla and Lily are crafting award-winning journalism careers with their caring and confident leadership talents in the newsroom.
 
The two Knights are headlining this year’s editions of The Clarion newspaper in their roles as co-editors. Both are in their third years with the paper and have worked on stories ranging from country music dancing to the marching band’s color guard. They are guiding a staff filled with editors, writers, photographers and designers of print, online and social media content.

 
Myla and Lily said they enjoy supporting their teammates every day in class. In addition to compiling material for their own stories, they also answer questions from fellow Clarion staffers, offer suggestions for projects and ensure each monthly publication meets the deadline.
 
“For me, it’s the connections we make with all of the people, especially now that we’re in this higher position,” Myla said. “We get to talk with everyone, and we get to work with everyone. I’ve made some incredible friendships and met so many new people that I probably would never have gotten a chance to talk to if I wasn’t on the newspaper.”
 
“It’s amazing getting to teach all of our younger teammates and helping them become better journalists,” Lily said. “I’ve learned a lot being on The Clarion. I’ve learned a lot about design and writing and deadlines, so it’s a really good simulation of what it’s like to be a journalist in the real world.”

 
Their efforts have made a difference for younger staff members like Lida, who is a copy editor on this year’s group. The sophomore said she has sought advice from more experienced teammates like Lily and Myla throughout her time on The Clarion.
 
“It’s nice having people to look up to, like the editors and the people who have been on staff longer than me,” Lida said. “I can go to them and they can help me with my stories, which is really nice.”
 
Lily and Myla both stepped into the newspaper’s headquarters in Room D113 for the first time in the 2023-24 school year. Lily had heard good things about The Clarion when she first enrolled at Southeast, and she chose newspaper as one of her electives for the fall semester. Myla joined the paper after enjoying an Introduction to Journalism course during her initial semester at school.
 
“I think the thing that got me into it was writing,” Lily said. “I really enjoy getting to do that. I also think interviewing is really cool, because I like talking to people and going to events. Just getting to be part of the school and getting to cover all of the unique people and activities is a lot of fun.”
 
“In middle school I had done yearbook, so I thought I would try something similar but a little bit different,” Myla said. “I just loved it in Intro to Journalism. Once I wrote my first story, I was like, ‘Okay, this is what I want to do.’”

 
Lily and Myla both sharpened their journalism skills as copy editors last year. They then applied last spring to take over the editorship position from Class of 2025 graduates Georgia and Maren. Advisor Brianne Clark, Georgia and Maren all selected them to serve in the key leadership spots.
 
“We had a lot of experience, so I feel like we were really prepared for the position,” Lily said. “We both wanted to be good leaders for this team.”
 
“I think we were both really willing to take on more responsibility, because we both love what we do,” Myla said. “Talking to people more and just being more involved in everything was definitely a part of why we applied.”
 
The Knights added another line to their leadership resumes this fall when they spoke at the Nebraska High School Press Association Fall Convention. They created a presentation called “Wrangle Your Feature Angle” for the statewide audience. They talked about the importance of having a focused topic on feature stories and why these types of articles are key elements of a student newspaper.
 
Lily and Myla were two of only four students who presented at the conference. The majority of speakers were professional print, broadcast and online journalists from across Nebraska.

 
Both students are also involved in many activities outside the newsroom. Myla is a member of the unified bowling and track and field programs, competes on the varsity bowling team and is an officer of the Southeast Feminist Club. Lily competes on the girls golf team and is a member of Southeast’s Leadership Cadre. She also plays piano and is involved in dance competitions away from school.
 
Myla said she and other staff members are happy to have those types of full schedules.
 
“Having so many people from different areas really helps us have a tied-together paper,” Myla said. “The people in orchestra know about that activity, the people in band know about that and people in all sorts of sports kind of have that inside scoop of what’s going on there. I think it’s really important that a lot of people are involved in multiple activities.”
 
Myla and Lily said they hope to craft even more award-winning moments during their time as Clarion co-editors.
 
“It can be a lot of work, but it’s definitely worth it,” Myla said.
 
Student journalists at The Clarion are providing a large amount of content for the entire Southeast High School community. Visit The Clarion at lseclarion.com to view current and past stories by staff members.
 
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