“I decided to take journalism because my older sister, Emmy Ingalls, took journalism, and she only had good things to say about it and she loved it so much, I decided to try it out,” Ingalls said. “She really encouraged me to take it because, at the time, I was not involved in any clubs, and she said, This is a way you can get more involved with the student body’.”

     As it turns out, meeting the student body quickly became one of Ingalls's favorite parts of journalism.

     “Doing interviews is probably my favorite aspect because you get to make connections with people outside of the class; I had some interviews junior year where I'll still see those people today, and [we] talk about our lives,” Ingalls said. “It also builds a lot of friendships and it is a good way to get a leadership role in something you love and you are passionate about.”

     Journalism as a class has also impacted Ingalls in various ways. One of which is the development of her leadership abilities.

     “It has taught me so many writing skills, but more importantly, it has taught me how to be a leader,” Ingalls said. “Before I took journalism, I was terrified to talk in front of people, but once I became sports editor, I had no choice; I had to tell people what to do, so I would definitely say it brought me out of my comfort zone.”

     Those closest to Ingalls have also seen her growth through Rampant Lines and are proud of what she has accomplished in her time spent as a part of the paper.

     “As her sister, I have watched Sarah become a much more confident person since beginning journalism,” Emmy said. “When she started journalism as a staff writer, she was very timid and quiet but getting to watch her edit a section last year I was able to watch Sarah exercise great leadership skills that I had not seen before being an editor in journalism.”

     There is one important part of being in journalism that has meant the most to Ingalls: her teacher, Ashley Hutchinson, who is better known to Ingalls as “Hutch.”

     “Hutch has had the greatest impact on me out of any teacher at Rose, she basically taught me how to write,” Ingalls said. “Through journalism, she is a teacher, but she is also a really good friend, and being able to connect with her on a friend level has really grown my respect for her as a teacher.”

     Reflecting on journalism reminds Ingalls of many memories with Hutchinson but highlights two in particular.

     “My favorite memory with Hutch would be when me, Anna Mac, Ginny, Smith and Chris went to go see her daughter play in the orchestra at Eastern, and it was a lot of fun to be able to watch her and to be there with Hutch to watch her kid; she was so proud of her,” Ingalls said. “Also, when she came back after Timmy set off my [Birdie] and threw it underneath the door, she was so mad, but it was a really funny story, and we still bring it up daily about how mad she was and how she made him write me an apology letter.”

     Ingalls plans on taking not only the memories and friendships she has made with her to college, but also the writing and people skills she has learned in journalism as well.

     “Being able to communicate and work in a big group with all kinds of different people and being able to speak up in those groups will definitely help me in college,” Ingalls said. “It means a lot to me, journalism is not just a normal core class or elective; it's more of a group where we are all really close, and I'm going to miss being able to be myself in a class and just have fun.”