For this edition, we asked staff and contributors to reflect on the end of the academic year. 

Julia Smerling – Multimedia Editor

This semester, I really pushed myself to do a lot more editorial work, and it has meant the world to me. I have worked with such extraordinary people and learned so much about myself and the work I want to create. Doing this kind of work has shown me how powerful and impactful fashion and culture are in identity, especially with my own identity and the person I want to be. I feel so honored to have learned from others and I hope to continue to learn and grow. I wanted to include this photograph in particular because of the ceramic heart, as photography and the people I work with on these shoots truly have my entire heart. 

Kiran Komanduri – Photo Editor

Over the course of this semester, I took 11,648 photos of NYU’s women’s basketball team. When I stepped into the Paulson Center for the first UAA game of the season, I’d only ever done sports photography once before and had never taken on a project this in-depth and time-consuming. I was sure that it would crash and burn. Luckily, it didn’t. 

For as many photos that hit the mark, there were four times as many that ended up out of focus, poorly framed, or just slightly off. It was difficult, and frustrating at times, but it’s by far my favorite photography project I’ve ever done, and was one of the best learning experiences — for both writing and multimedia — that I’ve had during my time at WSN. 

Ivy Chan – Social Media Editor

I was doing my homework in my room when one of my roommates was like, “Oh my gosh, it’s snowing outside!” We went out, played with the snow and admired the chapel. It was one of the most wholesome moments during my first year at NYU.

Krish Dev – Director of Creative & Digital Strategy

Last week, I visited the Bronx Zoo’s Congo Gorilla Forest as part of an assignment for my anthropology class. The award-winning exhibit is introduced with a video that tells viewers that by visiting the zoo, they are helping protect wildlife in the Congolian rainforests. After the screening, I was first met by the gaze of a western lowland gorilla. His eyes, alert and assessing, reminded me that the line between observer and the observed has always been thinner than it seems.

Anna Baird-Hassell – Deputy Managing Editor

I took this photo on my first day of classes at NYU, not knowing all of the crazy, happy, heartbreaking and mundane moments I would experience over the next four years. Now, on my last day of classes at NYU, I feel myself savoring the last moments, knowing they’ll soon slip away. But no matter where I go after graduation, I know some things will never change: The trees will be bright green in September, first-years will crowd the park, the fountain will spray unsuspecting passersby, and my memories from these four years will always stay with me.

Lauren Ng – Culture Editor

In October, I went to the 102nd floor of the One World Observatory to cover one of Food Network’s New York City Wine & Food Festival events for WSN. Surrounded by colorful cupcakes, macaron towers and fluffy clouds of cotton candy, my eyes drifted to the floor-to-ceiling windows, revealing 360-degree views of New York City and beyond. I was struck by the Jersey City skyline across the Hudson River — now, as I finish the first half of my undergraduate years at NYU, this photo reminds me to slow down, zoom out and enjoy the view.

Sidney Snider – Sports Editor

The photo of men’s basketball head coach Dave Klatsky cutting down the net was taken after the team clinched the UAA title outright on Feb. 23. I captured this moment of his team and his son, cheering him on below, and at the time I didn’t know this would be Klatsky’s final season with the Violets. He accepted a position coaching the reigning Division I championship program at the University of Florida for next year, and I’m excited to see the success he will achieve there.

I took the other photo at New York Fashion Week on Feb. 9. This man wasn’t walking a runway, but I liked his hat and asked for a photo. Little did I know the Philadelphia Eagles would go on to win the Super Bowl that night, and — more personally — four months later, I’d be moving to Philadelphia to intern as a sports reporter. 

Kaleo Zhu – Staff Photographer

As one of my favorite photos from winter break, I thought this picture reflected the universal feeling of vastness — whether it’s under the evening sky or taking your first steps into Manhattan.

Contact the Multimedia Desk at [email protected].