Ms. Sydney Gallop ’20 served as Co-Editor-in-Chief of the King Street Chronicle during her senior year at Sacred Heart Greenwich.  Her time on staff marked a period of progress and innovation for the KSC as she oversaw the development of a new digital platform as well as the transition from in-person to virtual journalism after the onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic.  In addition, Ms. Gallop played varsity field hockey at Sacred Heart and led the team to the 2019 New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) championship title as a captain.  Now at Colby College, Ms. Gallop is majoring in Global Studies and French.  She is also furthering her interests in both journalism and field hockey while on campus.

What is the most important skill that you learned during your time on the KSC Staff?

“The most important skill that I learned during my time on the KSC Staff was the ability to work as a team in a professional setting.  Working with students in all different positions, ranging from staff writers to section editors to video creators, helped me learn how to collaborate with many different people.  Collaboration is a value that can be learned in many different facets of life, such as on a sports team, however, what differentiated the KSC was that the newsroom was a professional setting of collaboration.  I feel that this has greatly helped me when working with others in an academic setting.  The ability to respectfully and successfully collaborate with others, especially people you do not know, is a strength that will help you in school and in life.  For instance, when doing projects that involve peer-revising, I often think back to my time on the KSC staff and use key tools like effective and constructive communication while working with others.  This skill will help me throughout the rest of my college experience and my professional career in the future.”

How have you continued your interest in journalism after graduating from Sacred Heart?

“After graduating from Sacred Heart, I was not sure I wanted to continue studying journalism.  After my first semester at Colby, I realized I missed writing and wanted a way to incorporate it into my life more frequently as my majors focus more on longer research essays rather than short articles.  As a result, I discovered that our campus has an editorial newspaper called Outside Colby.  I now write editorials for the Domestic section of the newspaper.  I hope to expand my role for the paper later in the future with an editorial or leadership position.”

What piece of advice would you give to the current and future KSC Staff?

“One piece of advice I would give to current and future KSC Staff is to take advantage of the opportunities in front of them.  My biggest regret from my time on the staff was not being more engaged in the multimedia platforms.  Having the technical skills to record, edit, and produce videos, podcasts, and graphics is an incredibly important skill in today’s world.  Reflecting on my time on the staff, I wish I had pushed myself more to take advantage of having the opportunity to learn these skills.  Although it may seem intimidating or incredibly time-consuming, it will pay off in the long term.  Additionally, there is no better place to learn how to do things like this because as a staff member, you have a plethora of resources around you to help you throughout the process.  Learning these skills as a high school student will put you at an advantage in college and in your professional career, so I urge anyone who participates in the KSC to challenge themselves to engage with these multimedia categories during their time as a staff member.  If I could, I would go back to high school and force myself to get out of my comfort zone and learn how to do these things.” 

The King Street Chronicle thanks Ms. Sydney Gallop ’20, former Co-Editor-in-Chief, for her contributions.