Senior shout outs: Tamela Watkins

Eva is one of the most talented student journalists I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with in my 35-year career. She is the South Carolina Journalist of the Year, she was the Al Neuharth Spirit of Journalism winner during her junior year, and she has won numerous national, regional and state awards. But for Eva, it’s not about the awards – it’s about guiding the staff to achieve the best...

I doubt when Ted joined the staff his junior year he thought he was going to end up as Co-Editor in Chief. But he was just so good at student journalism! He could write, he could take photos, he could design. This year as co-editor in chief, he has taken the sports writers under his wing and helped them grow and develop so much. He has wonderful leadership skills, and I appreciate him keeping everybody...

Emma is one of the kindest, most compassionate young people I’ve ever met. But she also is absolutely a take-charge leader, and she has done a tremendous job for the Tribal Tribune this year. She can take photos, she can design pages, she can come up with wonderful ideas – she’s our Renaissance woman who can do everything. You ended up being just what we needed, Emma – our go-to woman!

Jill has a calm kindness about her that allows her to be a great leader as well as a great designer. She’s a multiple-award winner, and we were lucky to have her on staff.

Megan too is calm, is kind, is compassionate – but she really knows how to design. I am so proud of her and all the visual pizzazz she brought to the Tribal Tribune this year. She, too, is a multiple- award winner, and the cohesiveness that she and Jill had in working together on design and in helping our younger designers was remarkable!

Rosemary is one of the talented, dedicated writers I’ve had the experience to teach. She was in my AP Lang class last year, and within two days, she dropped a class and added newspaper. Words are her specialty – that and being able to find a unique angle with compassion for her subjects for any story she’s given. She too is a multiple-award winner, and I can’t say enough how much we’ve appreciated...

The fastest I’ve ever seen Aaron write anything is when Jack Rogers – during Aaron’s sophomore year – threatened to kick him off staff (among other things) if he didn’t get a story he was assigned done by deadline. Aaron has been a consistent source of laughter for the Tribal Tribune with his pithy comments as well as our go-to guy for movies and TV shows to review. We love you Aaron, and...

Nancy, I believe, has found her home in the Tribal Tribune. Like any family, sometimes there may be some fighting and fussing, but we always love each other. Nancy has a tremendous eye and understands exactly what angle to look for when she’s taking photographs, and she has worked hard to mentor the younger photographers on staff. I’m proud of all this multiple award- winner has achieved during...

Peyton is my sports queen – she knows all the coaches, all the athletes, and all the sports stats. She’s been a wonderful asset to run our sports team this year, and I’m so proud of all she’s achieved in her two years on staff. Thank you, Peyton, for all you’ve done!

Hana has done a little bit of everything during her three years on staff: she’s been a writer, she’s been a photographer, she’s been an editor. She has an incredible talent in photography and in review writing, but she also has shown such leadership in combining with Alexis Perry to make the tribaltribune.org an award-winning website that makes us proud every day. Hana, you’re remarkable –...

When Alexis Perry was a sophomore, she came out of a SIPA class and shouted, “I want to do Podcasts!” My response: “What’s a podcast?” Alexis is the queen of podcasts, and she’s won numerous awards at SIPA and SCSPA for her work. It was a natural fit for her to move into being a co-editor of the website, and she has done a tremendous job. Plus, she makes me so proud each year as she shares...

Alison started out on Tribal Tribune as a photographer, and she’s a very talented one. But we needed a business manager, and Alison stepped up to take over the role. She’s been an incredible one, combining with Joey Watts to design award-winning ads. She’s also always kept calm even when editors are yelling, “We need HOW many pages for ads?” and she’s always made her deadlines. Thank you,...

Joey is one of the sweetest, kindest young men I’ve ever met. He never yells (even when I yell,) he always says “yes ma’am,” and he’s a master at creating incredible editorial cartoons and graphics. His design skills have become so polished this year, and we’ve always been able to count on him to create incredible graphics. Joey is a multiple award-winner, and we are so appreciative of...

Abrielle has only increased in talent over the last two years. Always good at page design, she’s perfected her skills and done so much for the Tribal Tribune. She too is a multiple award-winner, and her calm (even on press night) is truly an asset in the crazy world of newspaper.

So the story I like to tell about Hunter is the one where I went to the Blue Jamboree in October in North Charleston. I’m listening to a speech, and suddenly something catches my eye: Hunter is crawling on hands and knees behind the huge stage, stopping occasionally to rise up and take photos of the speaker. It was the first time I realized just how talented Hunter is as a photographer. He did so...

I knew Caroline was a lot of fun and that she had a great work ethic because I taught in AP Lang her junior year. What I didn’t know, however, was that Caroline was an INCREDIBLE designer. Thank you, Caroline, for all the times you took on double pages, for all the times you fixed other designers’ unfinished work, and for all the positive, kind vibes you spread through the staff. She too is a multiple...

Shea has written a great column, some wonderful reviews, and some spectacular stories. It just takes a little pushing to get him to share his talent with all of us. I’ve enjoyed having him on staff this year – he has tremendous talent and is a kind young man who has been wonderful to travel with to Washington and to Columbia.

Marissa too is a multiple award-winner, and she has definitely been an asset to the Tribal Tribune. Not only is she friendly and kind, she also is a very hard worker who has written a variety of stories for the Tribal Tribune – both in print and online. We’re proud of all you’ve accomplished, Marissa, and I’m so thankful you were on staff this year!

I’m proud of Harry for finding photography. He knew it interested him, and he pursued his passion. He’s a gifted photographer, and I appreciate all his hard work.

Grace is a gifted photographer; her photos have been among my favorite taken this year. She’s been a pleasure to travel with to Washington and Columbia, and I believe her talent will take her far in life.

Gabe is not only a photographer, but he also has turned into a fabulous designer as well. He has a kind personality and is a joy to be around. He too traveled with us to Washington. I’m so proud of him for developing his design skills and adding so much to the paper.

writer: Patrick is a gifted musician, and he took his passion for music and the arts and made it into one of his main assets on newspaper: artist of the month. He always has been pleasant and fun to be around, and we appreciate all he’s done for the Tribal Tribune.

Akshay transferred to Wando second semester his junior year and joined one of my AP classes. I knew the first time I saw his writing that we had to have him on Tribal Tribune. Fortunately, he had a hole in his schedule and I fortuitously ran into him in the library when he was trying to fill it. He can write anything we ask him to, but his true love is writing reviews of Stephen King books. Thanks,...

After I taught Sebastiano his junior year in AP Lang, I insisted that he join Tribal Tribune. He may regret that decision sometimes, but he has been such an asset to us this year. If I needed something written, I knew who would volunteer. Sebastiano has a positive, kind attitude and he appreciates learning new ideas and new concepts. He’s written so many stories for us this year, and we appreciate...

Isabella was new to Wando last year. Oh, how I wish I had her on staff for three years. She is a multiple award-winning, talented, enthusiastic writer who takes pride in meeting deadlines and in doing her very best work. She has been an incredible asset to the Tribal Tribune – I can’t thank her enough in all she’s done for us.

Gabrielle is a talented writer, one who has persevered through some hard times and shown her talent. Her writing placed nationally in a journalism writing competition, and I am so proud of her work.

Dominik was roped into newspaper because I taught him his junior year and because his twin sister is on staff. But my goodness, Dominik, we are lucky that I talked you into doing this. He is a consistently hilarious column writer – whether it’s about how aliens look or the ridiculous of Christmas music in October – but he also has a kind, sensitive side that shows in his mature, insightful feature...