After two years as staff writer at The Valley Reporter, I am leaving to coordinate writing and humanities tutoring at Vermont State University Johnson, sharing my love of writing and literature with students.
I have appreciated the opportunity to connect with so many community members over the past two years and have gotten to do some pretty cool things — ride in a glider, interview World Cup skiers and snowboard with an adaptive skier at Vermont Adaptive Ski & Sports’s new Mt. Ellen facility, to name a few highlights. I got to check conditions at Sugarbush and Mad River Glen, visit local schools and talk to many accomplished community members.
My favorite thing to write has been features, when I got to talk to interesting people doing interesting things in the Mad River Valley. I loved getting to read good books by local authors and write reviews, attend events, and get to know this community I’ve lived in for seven years on a deeper level. I even made some great friends in people I’ve interviewed, shared a pretzel with Congresswoman Becca Balint at Lawson’s and chatted with Senator Bernie Sanders at a town hall at Harwood Union High School. I learned so much about local governance and education.
I got to meet with local middle and high school students, observe therapeutic drumming and the English mastiff Bam Bam at Moretown Elementary School and the kindergarten dog tag vote in Waitsfield. I learned about foraging at the ShareMRV community garden and listened to local musicians perform. I’ve had so many wonderful opportunities over the past two years and appreciate everyone who stopped to answer my questions in the Mad River Green parking lot, everyone who took the time to talk to me and who shared their work and stories.
I also appreciate the wonderful staff at The Valley Reporter, including the many dogs that eagerly greet anyone who walks in. I look forward to reading the paper every week and seeing what exciting things are happening in our community. In a world of rapid news cycles, misinformation and social media, our local newspaper is a gem that informs the community and keeps us connected. Thank you to this incredible community for giving me the chance to be a part of it.
-ENF
