Senior Editors and Upper management of CXLVIII stand in front of Samuel Phillips Hall.
This paper marks the first issue of The Phillipian, vol. CXLIX. Following board turnover on January 23, all Senior Editors, Managers, and members of Upper Management (UM) in vol. CXLVIII have officially left the Newsroom.
CXLVIII’s Upper Management navigated a tenure marked by major changes both on campus and globally. Former Managing Editor Bailey Xu ’26 reflected on how these developments often intersected, and elaborated on the board’s reporting priorities and values.
“The changes in global politics, in some way, reflect upon Andover, whether it’s [administrative] policy or the student protest that was cancelled. These kinds of topics and events, which you can’t predict when or if they’ll happen, were relatively new for us to deal with and definitely challenging to report on… One of the things that really mattered to our board, and really matters to Andover students, is communication in a broader sense between the administration and the student body. That was something we really advocated for,” said Xu.
Given the weight of the year’s events, Former Editor in Chief Micheal Kawooya ’26 emphasized the responsibility of publicly standing behind The Phillipian’s editorial decisions. He reflected on how leading the paper required balancing firmness with empathy, and helped him personally grow as a leader.
“There were many times when I had to stand up for myself, and for the paper, and for what I thought was right in the paper. And there were many times where I had to be more graceful than I’d ever had been, or kinder than I ever had been. When you’re leading so many of your peers, and when you’re interacting with so many adults on campus, and so many people beyond campus, it teaches you all kinds of people skills, and really pushes you in that way,” said Kawooya.
Former Executive Digital Editor Abigail Zhu ’26 described how the board incorporated insight from alumni and faculty advisors across the Andover community.
“Micheal did a really wonderful job [with] talking to the right people and using all the resources that we have as a club with such a great alumni network. He reached out to so many past Editors-in-Chief and past boards for advice. And we really leaned on our club faculty advisors for that… Because we have such a great community, it made those issues feel manageable,” said Zhu.
Both incoming and former members of Upper Management reflected on how leadership required organization alongside decisiveness. Former Commentary Editor and current Managing Editor Camille Davis ’27 emphasized that coordinating across sections would be essential to the fruition of the board’s long-term goals.
“One of the biggest challenges in Commentary that will probably transfer over into Upper Management is the editing and making sure everyone’s on top of everything. As an editor, you become experienced with that because, of course, you have to make sure your writers are doing edits on time. On Upper Management, that expands across a larger scale because you have to do that for all of the different sections,” said Davis.
She continued, “People [on the new Upper Management] have some really cool ideas, and the main goal for that would be making actionable steps to achieve those, like using a spreadsheet and being really disciplined.”
Former Chief Financial Officer Angela Zhao ’26 encouraged the new board to be confident and embrace the weight of decision-making.
“[My advice to the next Upper Management would be] to be passionate and also to trust what they think is best. My own experience on the board was that a lot of times I asked for a lot of advice and external help, but at the end of the day, I’ve realized that I have to make the decision,” said Zhao.
Beyond leadership, Upper Management emphasized the collaborative culture in the Newsroom. Former Arts Editor and current Executive Editor Stella Seong ’27 described the collective effort behind each weekly issue.
“When you just see the Masthead on the website, you see these columns of names. But I don’t think you can actually grasp how that works and culminates into a Friday paper until you step into the Newsroom… You see all the collaboration that happens, and it’s everything from the humor, [and] all the light-hearted jokes made to sections, sitting down, throwing ideas around, and just trying to make things work. Seeing the amount of moving parts that go into the production of this paper is always inspiring,” said Seong.
Former Managing Editor Theo Wei ’26 reflected on the relationships formed through that collaboration.
“I’ve made a lot of great friends over this past year in the Newsroom. Even though I didn’t know any of the Upper Management members before becoming a Managing Editor, I feel like we’ve had great memories together. I’ve also gotten to meet a bunch of different people that I normally wouldn’t have met or gotten to meet, and The Phillipian is such a special place for me just because of how many challenges we’ve had to go through as well and being able to navigate that as a group,” said Wei.
This year, Head of School Day was announced on the same day as board turnover due to a severe snowstorm. Seong described the excitement of writing an article immediately upon stepping into the position.
“Angela [Guo ’27], Kelvin [Ma ’27], and I were all scrambling on Saturday and Sunday, basically day one on the job, and we were already having to get out a breaking news article on Head of School Day. It was exciting to start this process with that. We just dove headfirst into it because we had to write a breaking news article right away. Collaborating with them and having that as our first endeavor so far has been really fun,” said Seong.
Former Photo Editor and current Executive Digital Editor Kelvin Ma ’27 described the mix of anticipation and responsibility he felt entering Upper Management.
“We are responsible for the things that we publish and we have to take responsibility for anything that may or may not happen with The Phillipian. I think it’s really easy for us to say now that we’re all really excited. But I think being admitted to Upper Management is one thing and having to actually do the job is another thing. Overall, it’s a general feeling of excitement but also just keeping calm and being ready for whatever will happen,” said Ma.
Looking ahead, members of the incoming UM outlined their initiatives and goals. Former Sports Editor and current Managing Editor Ethan Ly ’27 expressed his desire to expand coverage beyond campus to better situate Andover within its surrounding community.
“I want to position the paper as more of a local publication, not just a school paper. A good example of this is what The Exonian [Phillips Exeter Academy’s newspaper] did recently. It’s been covering local events,” said Ly.
Former Illustration Editor and current Editor-in-Chief Angela Guo ’27 emphasized maintaining the paper’s rigorous reporting while expanding its digital presence and contributors’ engagement.
“Success to me will be, first of all, having a paper that I am proud of every week, and that meaningfully informs the community and contributes to discourse on important campus changes or important issues, whether that’s the community level or the global level. But also, I would like to see a step forward in the digital and multimedia expansion aspect. And I would also want to see more different writers and artists and voices in general, these talents being comfortable and wanting to stay and contribute to our paper,” said Guo.
In the Business section, former Business Associate and current Chief Financial Officer Kai Wang ’27 outlined plans to integrate the section more fully into the paper’s operations while strengthening its financial independence.
“The Business section has often been sequestered into a side room for many of The Phillipian‘s board meetings, and they don’t necessarily have a place during Newsroom hours. So, I definitely will try and introduce the Business section more to the broader Phillipian community. Another thing that is on my list will be to expand our revenue streams. We currently rely on selling advertisements, selling subscriptions to parents, and special events in The Phillipian as our main sources of revenue, but I have plans to expand upon those and to create new revenue streams,” said Wang.
Former Executive Editor Kate Rodgers ’26 reflected on The Phillipian’s role in amplifying student voices on campus, and encouraged the incoming board to continue pushing the paper forward.
“I’ve been able to see the impact that an article can have and how The Phillipian is able to voice student opinion during times when many might feel that their ideas aren’t being heard. We act as a conduit of student opinion, and are able to bridge the gaps between the student body and the administration or faculty,” said Rodgers.
She continued, “I want the next board to take a lot of risks, whether it’s visually or with their reporting, and make sure every week they’re producing something that’s very nuanced and engaging, and making sure The Phillipian evolves rather than merely just continues to exist.”
