Traditionally, being an editor for the SHS Round Table is a position that is solely left to seniors. However, Martiecita Inverno has broken the norm, becoming one of the first students to be selected as an editor as a rising junior.

As Editor-In-Chief Meagan Ash finishes off her year in the position, it is her job to choose the editors for the following year with the assistance of Round Table adviser Jon Ringel. In her decision, Ash decided to do something unexpected: putting Inverno into the position of features editor, despite her being a grade behind all the other editors selected.

Ash talked about how Inverno’s writing style and vocabulary were much higher than she normally expects from the students in the class, especially considering that she normally reads the works of upperclassmen. Ash said that, “It’s a really cool thing to sit down and read an article that you don’t have to do many edits on,” when talking about the pieces that Inverno has written so far.

When deciding on where she and Ringel would place Inverno as an editor, Ash said, “…there wasn’t much thinking to it. We got through the list and once I reached the features position, the first person I thought of was Martie.” Ash said that she and Ringel believed that this was where Inverno could best work with “writing that compliments her own.” Ash finished by saying, “This is a perfect spot for Martie… and we really think she’ll be able to do a really good job.”

Inverno already stood out by taking Journalism as a sophomore, a class that is usually reserved for juniors and seniors. Ringel himself said, “I didn’t realize she was a sophomore until at least halfway through the year, because she was like – I thought she was one of the higher performing seniors in the class,” then describing this happening as “more of a guidance slip-up than anything.” Inverno’s own recount of these events confirms this, saying that in the process of choosing her sophomore year classes that, “I was choosing my electives, I saw journalism and I selected it because I thought, ‘Oh, that sounds cool,’ then I was put in it and I have no idea how.” Inverno talked about the differences that she notices as the only sophomore in the class, including difficulties she faces, saying “I don’t really know anyone in my class so there’s that bit that’s a difference…but other than that there’s not really much of a difference; it doesn’t affect much.”

Despite this potential obstacle, Inverno has been an active member of the Round Table, writing articles on The Strawberry Hill Player’s production of A Piece of My Heart, and the Jewels of the Knight, a new club formed as a support group for freshman girls. When asked about her motivation behind writing, Inverno said, “I just think it’s fun, like I’ve always enjoyed writing and now that I can go to school and write and I can get a grade for writing it’s just enjoyable to me.”

Being involved with the Round Table also meant a lot to Inverno, saying, “I like being about to be more involved in the actual school, cause last year I didn’t do much with clubs or anything like that and now I feel like I’m an actual part of it this time.” Inverno has further tried to get involved with clubs around the school, including Students Demand Action, created to fight against gun violence in schools, and being a regular attendant of the SHS Book Club, a new club that was founded at the end of Inverno’s freshman year.

Ringel talked about his excitement about having the chance to work closely with Inverno for two years, saying, “It’s cool having her going into an editorial position as a junior, this is only the second time that I’ve ever picked that before.” Ringel was also asked about the unique opportunities and advantages that Inverno may have in the position they’re in, to which he talked about the only previous junior editor he had worked with. Ringel said, “The last person that did that for me was editor-in-chief her senior year and won first place in a national competition for interviewing, so yeah, that usually leads to really seasoned student journalism.”

To close off his interview, Ringel said something that will hopefully bode well for Inverno’s future with the Round Table, and with their journalism endeavors in general, finishing his thoughts with one enthusiastic, “Hell yeah!”