Senior Letters 2025
- The Gatepost
- May 9
- 8 min read
Dear David Abe,
On behalf of everyone in Outing Club, thank you for being such an incredible part of our club. From bowling and rock climbing to pickleball and go-karting, you brought energy, laughter, and positivity to every event. You weren’t just a participant, you were a core part of what made Outing Club so special.
We’re especially grateful for your creativity in designing the upcoming Outing Club hoodie. Your mark on this club will be remembered long after you graduate.
You’ll truly be missed, but we’re so excited to see where life takes you next.
With appreciation,
Yair Rachmany
On behalf of Outing Club
Starting college during a pandemic felt like an absolute nightmare. I hadn’t planned on going to school close to home, but the world had other plans.
I slowly saw campus come to life which felt so magical. Slowly as more and more people appeared after that first year I felt like I was home and that I had my life back after the pandemic took it away.
I found my courage here and my soul. I found my friends, fell in love, and grew into a woman the younger me had always wanted to be. And I couldn’t have done it anywhere else.
I want to thank everyone in the art department for helping me become a better artist and challenging the way I think and create. A special thank you to Tim McDonald and Paul Yalowitz for working with me during my final year and helping me realize who I am as an artist.
To Gina and Sabrina in EXP, I will miss you both so much. All the work we had accomplished together during my Hilltop years has made me a better leader and a stronger person. I couldn’t have done it without you.
Admissions, my first on campus job was really fun and I’m so thankful I got the opportunity to inspire students to come here.
And to Gatepost, I used to teased Ryan so much for being a part of a ‘cult’. This is home, this is where I should’ve been a long time ago, I’m thankful for the two years I spent with everyone working on the paper.
I’ll miss walking around campus, trudging up the stairs of may hall, and once performing in The Suit Jacket Posse for Hilltop. I’m happy to have had a loving and happy home for the past 4 1/2 years.
Emily Monaco
Like many students, my college career was not without doubt. My first year here, I worried that maybe Framingham State wasn’t where I wanted to be. Now I don’t know if there’s anywhere else I could have made it.
Coming into college, I was inspired to be a bigger part of the community. I spent a semester as a foundations peer leader, four years as a member of The Gatepost, seven semesters on the improv troupe, and three years as an employee of the University’s IT Services.
All of that is to say I did a lot of stuff and met a lot of people - so many that it’d be impossible to give everyone the mention they deserve.
Firstly, Maddi, Emma, Avry, Leticia, Ainslee, RA Sam, and everyone else who hung around on the 11th floor - thank you for making me want to spend more time out of my room.
Eric, Tadiwa, Matt, Will, and the rest of Hilltop - thank you for so graciously welcoming me into Hilltop, and nurturing what I’ve realized is a life-long love of improv and theater.
Emily, Leighah, Sophia and all the other now-gone members of The Gatepost who taught me all I know about writing journalistically, thank you for your patience and acceptance.
Izzy, Dylan, Opp, Adrien, Kyra, Omar, Antonio, and everyone else who I in part leave the newspaper to, thank you for trusting me, laughing with me, and making my job so easy. I know you will do excellent work.
Zay and Owen - I don’t think anything has made me happier than hearing that you look up to me as a friend, a mentor, and a leader, and that I’ve been able to help you when things were difficult. You are fine, upstanding gentlemen, and I’m honored to have worked with you both.
All my other friends - Adam, Bella, Ben, Sabrina, Riley, Sam, Ryan, Ray, and everyone else - thanks for making every moment in between clubs and classes just as much fun, too.
Em, I love you, and I don’t know what I would be without you. Mom and Carly, I owe everything to you both. Thank you.
I love you, FSU!
See you soon,
Ryan O’Connell
While I feel like I have spent an entire lifetime at Framingham State, it also feels like yesterday I moved into my freshman year dorm.
There are so many amazing people who I will always be grateful for who helped me through that first semester, and everyone after.
Dr. Bennett has not only taken me under her wing and helped me improve my confidence and critical thinking skills, but she has been an amazing mentor these last four years. I couldn’t imagine having a better honors thesis advisor or spending every Monday in another professor’s office.
Desmond McCarthy and Liz Banks have been the best advisors I have had during my time on - and off - The Gatepost. I will forever be indebted to you both for your support.
Through everything, I’ve always had Onyx every Wednesday in May Hall 213. Each issue has brought the best memories and my best friends.
Sofia and Ryan, you are both the kindest people I know. We will always be in each other's lives, and I don’t think I could handle that not being the case.
The Gatepost also brought me some of the people I am closest to.
Maddi, Sophia, and Ryan, I am so happy to have gone through this with you all by my side. You each helped me through the best and the worst of it - and I hope I helped you too. I can’t wait to see all the amazing things you each accomplish and don’t know how I’ll spend my Thursdays without you.
To the rest of the GP staff, I love you all.
Though I get to come back as a grad student, I will still miss so much from my undergraduate time.
Forever grateful to you all,
Emma Lyons
Ex-Copy Editor
Three years ago, I graduated high school - an 18-year-old with underdeveloped social skills and no idea what I wanted out of college except “something different.” For this reason, I chose to go to FSU - one thousand miles away from my Missouri home.
I couldn’t be more glad I did this.
My journey here has been incredible and supported by so many people, so without further ado:
Thank you to my parents for always believing in me. You’ve made this all possible.
Thank you to all of my sisters. You’ve been such significant role models, showing me so much of what a woman can be. And Jadyn particularly - thank you for always being there, whether I wanted to rant about drama, cry about my perceived failures, or sit on the phone for three hours while we both go about our days.
Thank you to the entire English Department faculty, particularly Lisa Eck, Desmond McCarthy, and Patricia Lynne. You’ve shown me that I can aim high, even if believing in myself means choosing the scarier option.
Thank you to everyone on The Gatepost. In a bizarre way, I’ll miss staying up until 4 a.m. on Thursday nights, though admittedly probably not the Fridays that followed.
And lastly, thank you to Fivers - the most difficult part of graduating is knowing we won’t get to spend a frankly egregious amount of time in each other’s presence. You’ve made my senior year everything I dreamed of when I was a lonely kid stuck at home during COVID, and I don’t think I could put into words how much that means to me.
Raena Hunter Doty
The days were long, but the years were short on top of the hill. Four years at FSU have gone by incredibly fast, but at the same time, I have lived 100 lives.
Framingham State has taken me places I could have never imagined. I am privileged and honored to say that I will graduate from this top-of-the-line university.
But it all started here, at The Gatepost.
Five years ago, as a high school senior, I got in touch with Desmond McCarthy. From that moment on, my life was changed.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was able to join The Gatepost meetings over Zoom for the entirety of my senior year of high school. This was the reason Framingham State was the only school I applied to.
From that moment on, my days revolved around McCarthy 410. As a commuter, having an office on campus to use to study, hang out with friends, or even to just leave my bags in was incredibly valuable.
Within the four walls of McCarthy 410, I met lifelong best friends. Leighah Beausoleil, I would not be the person I am without your influence. I am only as passionate and confident about journalism because you inspired me. I can't wait to see where the world takes us. I will forever look up to you.
Emma Lyons, I still remember sitting in your dorm freshman year, trying to convince you to join The Gatepost. Look how far we have come! You have helped me through my college career in ways I can't even begin to articulate. You are more than a copy editor, you are a friend!
Dylan and Izzy, I am so unbelievably sad to leave you guys behind, but I am comforted by the fact that I get to watch you both grow into yourselves through these next couple of years at FSU. You both are going to go on to accomplish amazing things - there is no doubt about it. I am so proud of the people you are becoming.
Liz Banks, from Intro to Journalism to internship in journalism - you have been there for it all. Thank you for always being there to pick up my calls. Your expertise and patience have expanded my future as a journalist in insurmountable ways.
Lisa Eck, you have taken me to the ends of the world - both literally and academically. Going to India was one of the life-changing experiences I will ever have. You will always be my “travel mother,” even after I cross the stage.
Desmond, where would I be without you? You are the most dedicated and considerate person I have ever met. Every step of the way, since I was 17, you never missed a call, an email, or a Gatepost meeting. It is because of you that I believe there are still good people in this world. I would say thank you, but that feels too close to a goodbye, so I will say I will see you soon and hope one day I will be able to pay you back.
I have a pretty good idea of where I will end up in 5, 10, or 20 years, but funny enough, I don't have a plan for tomorrow. But I have the rest of my life to figure that out.
Framingham State, if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing.
With love,
Sophia Harris