The St. Edward’s student body has had a longstanding history of active engagement in student journalism, with our first newspaper — “The College Echo” — starting in 1888. Over the past 138 years, the newspaper has been the primary source of student voice, news and happenings in and around campus, being an important part of our history as a university and the guardian of our memory as an institution. Hilltop Views has only been our name since 1987, and we are entering our 40th year under the familiar name. With that in mind, we wanted to enter our anniversary year with a celebration of what makes our university special. This issue is inspired by the traditions that make our community unique and that characterize our university, but it is also a love letter to memory — both our personal memories and how we keep them alive, but also our institutional memory. One of Hilltop Views’ traditions is Special Issue itself, where we usually display a letter from the editor-in-chief on the first page. This year however, we wanted to begin by highlighting why Hilltop Views is important to us, and why student journalism has been, and always will be, an important tradition on the hilltop. 

Anna: Hilltop Views has been at the center of my time at St. Edward’s since I was a freshman. Now, as a senior, leaving Hilltop Views is the most difficult part about graduating. Through late nights at Holy Cross 218 clicking through InDesign files to try to reformat a picture, tabling with the Kozmetsky Center and at Homecoming and interviewing all kinds of people from all over campus, I have fallen more and more in love with journalism. Hilltop Views has changed so much throughout the years — under different leadership, printing schedules and content formats — but most importantly, it has changed my life. It allowed me to explore interests that had been dormant for years and to truly dive deep into passions that I didn’t even know I existed. Monday afternoon budget meetings and monthly, formerly biweekly, production nights are the backbone of Hilltop Views, only sustained by the continuous interest displayed by the rest of the student body. Student journalism and having the privilege to be the ones to inform, entertain and represent our community are my favorite things about Hilltop Views and the greatest gifts that St. Edward’s could have given me over these past four years. I hope that, now that I am passing the torch just like the ones that came before me, the ones who come after me will also strive to keep these traditions alive.

Dalia: Moving from a small town to Austin, I was scared I would not find a community like I had in high school. I can thankfully say I was wrong: Hilltop Views opened its doors to a shy freshman who only thought she could copy edit. I am about to complete my third year working at this award-winning newspaper, and first year as managing editor, and one of my favorite traditions is sharing with my two high school UIL journalism coaches, Mr. Hugo Rodríguez and Madame Brittany Ortega, when I have a byline on print. Not because I think I’m a good writer and I’m trying to show off, but because I swore from the first budget meeting I attended that I would not write because I thought I was not a good-enough writer. Every time one of my stories gets published, or I receive a TIPA award or my stories get added to the SJN tracker, I am reminded of my growth as a journalist that started years before I even realized. Writing and working on this special issue has shown me that we as students cycle in and out, but we become a part of a larger community filled with culture and traditions. It is comforting to know that you will always be a part of the lived and written history at St. Edward’s University.

Zemira: Starting out as a writer my freshman year, I was introduced to campus life through a journalistic lens, documenting various events through the perspectives of students and the greater Austin community. Now, as a senior and current editor for Life and Arts, I have had the privilege to see how our campus community and student life differ since I began as a writer. Whether it was attending and reporting annual campus events, such as Asian Student Association’s Lunar New Year celebrations to the student-led Ballroom Extravaganza to reporting on the inaugural celebration of La Lucha de Sigue (formerly known as CAMP Day), I saw not only the changes of these annual student traditions and events that occurred over the years, but how they further capture the evolution of student life and involvement on campus. With my final semester and graduation approaching in the fall, I can look back and appreciate the experience that Hilltop Views has given me in documenting and attending these events, for through student perspective, I saw firsthand the growth of our traditions and how they shape our student body.

Dani: Going into my freshman year of college, I had no intentions of going into journalism. When I asked Anna — my then orientation leader and now Editor-in-Chief — about opportunities for photography at the university, she invited me to join Hilltop Views. I was hesitant at first, as I was not a huge fan of writing, but I quickly learned that I was welcome as a photographer. Soon after, I began working with Hilltop Views and eventually switched my major to Communication in order to focus on my newfound passion for journalism. Now, as I end my college journey early, I can say with confidence that late nights spent in the Hilltop Views office with my best friends made my time at St. Edward’s was worth it. While I may be missing out on the many traditions this school holds for graduates, I’ll always remember the ones I found with Hilltop Views.

Jeremiah: This was my first semester with Hilltop Views as an editor and it has been an absolutely amazing experience. It was an amazing time to be the Viewpoints Editor and to be a part of an outstanding staff. Some of the best memories I’ve created have been with Hilltop Views and our production late nights, listening to our queue of music, laughing nonstop and having a great time. It has been an absolute pleasure to be a part of this paper, and I am looking forward to what’s next with Hilltop Views! 

Michaela: This time last year, I never saw journalism as part of my future. Now, as sports editor at Hilltop Views, joining the newspaper has become one of the best decisions I’ve made. Long before I started at St. Edward’s, I knew I wanted to go into the sports media industry. My freshman year, I was on the track and field team, which kept me too busy to attend games. After I retired, I felt like I’d lost my sense of purpose. To fill that gap, I started going to as many campus sporting events as I could and picked up my camera again. While taking a Sports Communication class, I heard about Hilltop Views from Anna, our current editor-in-chief, and was invited to a meeting to try sports photography. I was hooked immediately — after shooting a few basketball games, I took a chance and wrote my first game story. I was nervous, but did it anyway. After that, I fell in love with sports journalism. Since then, I have written a multitude of stories: game coverage, feature, photo stories, profiles and more. This newspaper has allowed me to explore my passions in a new way, and to show others how much fun sports media truly is. As my time comes to a close, I want to thank the other editors for making my final semester the best one yet — late night production laughs and post-budget meetings are memories that I’ll keep forever. And to Hilltop Views, thank you for everything that I got to experience and the friends that I made along the way. 

This issue, like any other, would not have been possible without the support of our community and the contributions that both our staff members and others around campus have made — as pivotal sources, as supporters or while helping us conduct research. For that, we thank all of you.

Your 2026 Hilltop Views Editorial Team,

Anna Pratts, Dalia Zamora, Zemira Recio, Jeremiah Dimas, Dani Brannon and Michaela Fallon