Seniors Nathan Reish and Isabel Rivera were staff writers on the 2020-2021 award-winning Mountaineer staff, both contributing to that year’s Distinguished Site award. During that year, both students accomplished a great deal, including writing nationally recognized, award-winning stories.

After such a rewarding year, Reish and Rivera were promoted to the position of Co-Editors-In-Chief for the 2021-2022 school year. 

“I became the Editor-In-Chief along with Nathan after being on the staff my junior year,” said Rivera. “I knew that being the Editor-In-Chief was and is a very important position in our school. The Mountaineer is one of the oldest and most successful newspapers around, and I looked forward to continuing that success for our school,” she added.

The jobs and responsibilities of being an Editor-In-Chief are challenging to say the least. They are tasked with running the newspaper, editing stories, assigning new ideas, sharing their knowledge with new staff members, and working regularly with the adviser Mr. Matthew Sobrinski to make sure the site is up-to-date. 

The position of Editor-In-Chief can be quite challenging, as Reish and Rivera have learned this year. On a daily basis, they must update the staff’s agenda, making sure each staff member has a meaningful assignment to complete. They must also meet with each staff member, supporting and tracking his/her progress. On top of these and other behind-the-scenes responsibilities, the Editors-In-Chief must communicate with their adviser every day.

“Nate and Isabel combine all the qualities necessary to lead a publication to success. They are intelligent, enthusiastic, and team-oriented,” said Sobrinski. “They are also experienced journalists who understand every phase of the publication process, which is of vital importance.”

The Editors-In-Chief had to face a new challenge that no other Mountaineer editor has ever gone through. This year, the Journalism 1 and Advanced Journalism classes were combined into one class. This means that Reish and Rivera had to work with students who had some journalism experience, as well as students who had none at all.

Despite the challenge, the Mountaineer has grown stronger throughout the year. Attracting more viewers, publishing more stories, and redesigning the layout of the site are only a couple of the many accomplishments that Reish and Rivera have helped the staff achieve. 

“I think it’s special what Nate and Isabel have accomplished,” said senior staff writer Jonnathan Robles. “Not many people see exactly how much work they put in, but the staff truly appreciates their hard work and personas.”

To top off an incredible year, the Editors-In-Chief have led the Mountaineer to a fourth consecutive Distinguished Site Award. Planning for this award started at the end of the previous school year, and the award took hard work from all staff members to complete. With the help of the whole staff, the publication has put countless hours into achieving this goal. 

“My favorite moment from this year was definitely the day we finally became a distinguished site,” said Reish. “When you work hard for something for over a year and finally see your goals realized, it’s an awesome feeling.”

The Distinguished Site honor is only awarded to a very small number of schools across the country. This year, the Mountaineer was only the 32nd school in the United States to receive this top honor.

“Becoming a distinguished site puts credibility next to our name, and it continues the long tradition of being a top-class high school newspaper here at Stroudsburg,” said Reish.

Reish and Rivera have been able to work exceptionally well together because of their many years of collaboration. They have known each other since kindergarten. Since then the duo has remained close, sharing various classes together. 

This dynamic duo shares a similar post-secondary vision, as they will both be attending The Pennsylvania State University. Both are excited about attending the popular school together. 

“I am very excited about attending Penn State!” said Rivera. “I think it’s funny that both of us are going, but I think he’s starting to copy me.” 

It is fair to say that the Mountaineer is stronger than ever, thanks to the dedication of Reish and Rivera. The entire staff and adviser would like to thank them for their dedication to the award-winning publication.

Gallery • 2 Photos

Nathan Reish

Nathan and Isabel are pictured side-by-side in the 2009-2010 Morey Elementary yearbook where they were classmates in kindergarten.