As the 2025-2026 school year comes to an end, the seniors at The Daily Emerald are quickly approaching their final print issues and bylines. As their time on The Emerald comes to a close, they reflect on their time working at the paper and the things they will remember fondly looking back on their college days.
Q: What have you done at The Emerald?
Jasmine Saboorian: Campus News Editor
: I started at The Emerald during the winter term of my sophomore year as a news reporter. The following year, I was a senior news reporter, and now I’m Campus News Editor. It’s been such a great journey –– I’ve loved every step of the way.
Sean Avery: A&C Writer, Film and TV
: I have worked for The Emerald for nearly two years as the film and TV writer. I have written a wide swath of pieces, including film festival coverage, profile stories, music reviews, and more, but I specialize in film and TV news/reviews.
Molly McPherson: Photo Editor
: I have been at The Emerald since my freshman year. First as a photojournalist, and then as Photo Editor for the last two years.
Tristan Hoffman: Editor in Chief
: During my sophomore year, I started at The Emerald opinion desk. I quickly realized my affinity for editing and decided to pursue the role of News Editor. This year, I am the Editor in Chief. I never thought I would be in this role at The Emerald, but I’m so grateful for all of it.
Brady Ruth: Sports Editor
: I started working at The Emerald Sports Desk during my freshman year, covering softball. I knew nothing about it. Since then, I’ve covered lots of different sports and gotten the opportunity to travel all across the country, covering Oregon football as Sports Editor.
Q: What is your favorite piece you’ve worked on at The Emerald?
McPherson: My favorite piece I’ve ever worked on has to be my most recent photo story of the New York Liberty vs. The Toyota Antelopes. I came into college wanting to work for the New York Liberty so getting the chance to cover them was an amazing experience.
Saboorian: I did a profile story when President John Karl Scholz got elected. He wouldn’t speak to me personally, so I talked to a lot of different people about him. The story actually ended up winning a Pensiero Award, which was really rewarding. Getting all of those perspectives on him really helped to round out the story.
Avery: That’s a tough one. My favorite article would have to be my profile piece on Willow Kasner. Although it stretches beyond my beat, it was probably the most fulfilling piece I’ve ever written. Willow is an incredible person and I’m honored to have gotten the chance to share her story with readers.
Hoffman: One of my favorite stories I’ve edited was Ruby Duncan’s School of Music and Dance Investigative story. That story started being researched when I was still the Investigations Editor. The story was wild, and Ruby really had a passion for it, which I loved. It also had an impact on the policies surrounding professors, which I was really glad to be a part of.
Ruth: My favorite has to be the feature that I wrote about the Oregon first baseman. It was fun to tell his story. He’s a guy that’s kind of overshadowed on the team by a lot of star-studded names, so it was cool to be able to write about the season he was having. At the end of the season, he was named for First Team All-Big Ten, which was cool. I was onto him before anyone else was.
Q: What was your favorite part about working at The Emerald? What will you miss?
McPherson: I’ll miss the incredible people who make up the Photo desk. In my four years with The Emerald, I have made the most amazing friends. I can’t wait to see what they all do as they continue to blossom into the world.
Avery: My favorite thing about working at The Emerald is the freedom and support to write about things I’m deeply passionate about. It’s a welcome environment for creatives to really put a unique stamp on the publication.
Saboorian: As an editor, I’ve loved teaching reporters about journalistic-style writing. I’m so passionate about it, so it’s been a great opportunity to pass on those skills to my reporters. I’ll miss the people the most. We’ve gotten to bond both inside and outside the newsroom, which I’ll really miss.
Hoffman: Seeing early-career journalists step up to the plate and overcome challenges has been amazing. Helping them learn and helping them grow has been my favorite part of the Emerald, for sure. I’ll miss being in a student newsroom. Having friends in the newsroom that you can rely on is a special experience I’ve had here.
Ruth: I will miss the opportunities, especially for beat writing. To be able to follow a specific team and know the ins and outs of their season and players is something special. I’ll also miss the opportunities I’ve gotten to travel to cover games. I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to cover Oregon’s football season this year; it was unforgettable.
Q: What are your plans after graduation?
McPherson: I plan to work as a designer for an advertising agency post-grad.
Hoffman: This summer, I’ll be doing business reporting for The Oregonian as a Snowden intern. After that, I hope to travel or start my career in the world of journalism.
Saboorian: I actually graduated last term. Right now, I’ve got an internship through the Snowden program at the SOJC. I’ll be at Lookout Eugene-Springfield, and I’m starting next Monday!
Ruth: Post-grad, there aren’t any set plans yet, but I’m throwing my name out there for as many media jobs as I can. I’m not totally set on writing; I think there’s a lot to be done in the world of broadcast media and broadcast journalism. I’m not limiting myself to anything, specifically, but I’m not hard set in my plans yet.
Avery: In the future, I want to travel and write about the world. I want to tell stories about fun and interesting people within and outside of the entertainment industry. The dream is to write for a high-caliber entertainment publication one day, like Variety or Letterboxd — wherever the wind takes me.
Congratulations, seniors!
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