For this year’s Alumni Issue, members of the Editorial Board reflected on why they joined Pipe Dream. We hope that any alumni visiting this weekend can read this and recall their time working for Pipe Dream fondly!

Ciara Lavin, Editor-in-Chief: “I joined Pipe Dream after being determined my entire freshman year to never join it. I wanted to try all the new things campus had to offer, and I was afraid of rumors I’d heard about Pipe Dream not allowing its members to join outside clubs. However, I’d spent a lot of my time working on publications in high school, and in the summer of my sophomore year I had an epiphany that I wanted to be a journalist someday. After finding out about an open position at the Pipe Dream Copy Desk in my Rhetoric 240: Intro to Journalism class, I applied and joined the section. I loved the environment of the office and even the editing work itself — all through the transition from a lively in-person office to online, socially-distanced Production. Within less than a year, I was appointed to the position of Copy Desk Chief, and then the year after that, I was elected Editor-in-Chief. It is crazy to me to think that the club I inevitably joined in order to have a news-related experience for my resume would become one of the most important things of my college career. I have met my best friends, found my passions and learned so many lessons here, and I wouldn’t trade my Pipe Dream experience for the world. I look forward to the day where I am a long-graduated alumna, still keeping an eye out for the paper and willing to help as much as previous staff members have done for me!”

Sarah Teper, Managing Editor: “I found Pipe Dream at University Fest when I was a first semester freshman. I already declared my major as a graphic designer, so I intended to join Pipe Dream as a design contributor. After attending the GIM, Fun Page stole my heart. I was mesmerized by the ability to be both creative and make others laugh. The rest was history. I found my style as a comic artist and found immense joy in this creative outlet. Pipe Dream makes me feel like I belong somewhere. It provides an escape, a sense of community, great friends and many lessons. As a senior now, I have worked my way from a Fun contributor to Managing Editor. I am excited to see where the rest of this year takes me and all that I learn from it.”

Riccardo Monico, News Editor: “I initially became drawn to journalism during the 2016 election cycle, because I saw for the first time the impact (fake?) news can have on people. I joined Pipe Dream in my sophomore year because I had been saying I wanted to do journalism for years, and had never actually joined an actual publication. Once I attended the GIM, I was immediately drawn to the energy of the office, and specifically the News section. I originally joined both the Copy Desk and News, and ended up as Assistant Copy Desk Chief in my junior year. This year, I was finally able to join the section that had drawn me to the paper originally as News Editor, and while it’s a ton of work, I couldn’t be happier. I hope that this is just the start of my future in news.”

Kaitlyn Liu, Opinions Editor: “I joined Pipe Dream because I knew I loved writing, and I wanted to find a way to write about topics that wouldn’t always be covered in class. I’ve been writing here since freshman year now, and I’ve met so many amazing friends and talented writers. I started out as a Copy contributor and Opinions columnist, then Assistant Opinions Editor and now Opinions Editor. I’ve seen so much growth in my writing, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without Opinions. I still feel so proud and excited when my peers or professors say they’ve read my columns.”

Lakhsmi Chatterjee, Arts & Culture Editor: “I joined Pipe Dream as a scared freshman who just came out of her high school newspaper and knew she liked writing. Honestly, I was planning on being a physics major. If you told me I’d be studying political science and Arabic now, I wouldn’t believe you. I also joined with the intention of News being my main section until Katy Wong, ‘20 and Gabby Iacovano, ‘20 reeled me into Arts & Culture as an intern. I still remember the first article I wrote. It was a review of the first “Venom” movie. Oh, how full circle we’ve gone with “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” out now. I won’t be reviewing that, too.”

Joe Tonetti, Sports Editor: “My first exposure to Pipe Dream was when I read the April Fool’s Pipe Bomb issue in print during a college tour. After taking journalism class for a year in high school, I remembered Pipe Dream upon my arrival as a BU freshman and figured it would be a good extracurricular to start with. Coming to the GIM, I thought I’d try to join the Sports section since it seemed easy and I hoped they’d let me cover track and field. The staff at the time were ecstatic that someone wanted to cover a really niche sport, and thus I passionately scrapped the remainder of my free time to talk about people running around. Now I’m Sports Editor and I cover basically every sport at BU. I have no free time anymore, but at least I get the occasional crumb of serotonin when my friends say they find my writing engaging. It’s a rewarding feeling.