Walpole High School’s 100+ year old newspaper, the Searchlight, formally known as the Rebellion, is a student-run newspaper creating issues distributed to the school. Throughout the years, many students who have worked on the staff as an editor or writer have gone on to carry their knowledge and experiences gained from Walpole into a media-related major in college or for the production of a city or state-wide distributed newspaper.

Toby Moses, class of 2023 and Sports Editor at the Searchlight, is a journalism major at Boston University, now the Managing Co-Editor for Boston University’s student newspaper, the Daily Free Press.

 “Working at The Searchlight was extremely rewarding. Outside of helping me grow as a writer, I became familiar with the process and extensive work that goes into publishing a newspaper,” Moses said. ”From my junior year on, I knew I wanted to pursue journalism professionally.”

After graduating from Emerson College in 2023 with a major in journalism, Editor-in-Chief during 2019, Jess Ferguson is currently a Copy Editor for The Guardian U.S. 

“I started to consider pursuing journalism after my class watched ‘Spotlight’ in my first year of journalism as a sophomore,” Ferguson said. “This moment has come full-circle over the years, from interning at Boston Globe in college to attending a Q&A with one of the Spotlight reports, Michael Rezendes, portrayed by Mark Buffalo, while at the Guardian.”

Quinnipiac University student, and current Quinnipiac Chronicle Arts and Entertainment Editor, Sophie Murray, graduated from WHS after serving as the 2024-2025 Editor-in-Chief. Murray’s major is journalism, with a minor in advertising and social media strategy. 

 “What I’ve carried into college most from The Searchlight is an understanding that journalism is never a solo effort. Everything — from writing to editing to layout — depends on collaboration, and I have learned how important it is to trust the process and the people you are working with to create the final product,” Murray said. “Remember that every story has value, no matter what you’re writing.”

Erin Foley, University of Mississippi graduate, finished college with a dual degree in Journalism and Integrated Marketing Communications. From a young age, Foley knew she wanted to be a journalist as soon as she started working for the Searchlight. 

“Don’t take criticism from someone you wouldn’t take advice from,” Erin Foley said. “Don’t get pigeonholed!”

2022-2023 Co-Editor-in-Chief and current Merrimack University student, Kristyn Dentremont, advises people to embrace new challenges when working on a newspaper. From her years working on the Searchlight staff, Dentremont has a wide variety of forever memorable projects and articles from the Searchlight, specifically works including “Artificial dyes: designer or deadly,” in addition to several creatively-inspired visual media pieces. 

“Be obsessively grateful. Twenty seconds of courage can change the course of your life. Be brave, even if it’s for less than a minute a day,” Dentremont said.

WHS class of 2024 and current University of Massachusetts Amherst student, Ciara Foley, was the Editor-in-Chief at the Searchlight in 2024. With a dual degree in Psychology and Communication, a minor in business and a certificate in International Scholars, Foley is now the Website Manager for the UMass PRSSA. She also treasures her NESPA award for a co-written article reviewing a Puss-in-Boots movie. 

“It takes a massive team to produce articles and papers-with that there is a lot less flexibility time-wise,” Ciara Foley said. “While it seems a bit intense at first, it is great exposure to efficiency in a fast-paced environment!”

These former WHS students have been a significant part of the Searchlight’s history, in which their memorable skills and dedication to the newspaper will never be forgotten.

 “The Searchlight was the first time I was ever exposed to true, dedicated teamwork. We spent hours working hard towards publishing a newspaper and/or articles and it felt so beyond rewarding to achieve that with people that wanted it just as badly as I did,” Ciara Foley said. “Being Editor-in-Chief pushed me far out of my comfort zone and there were extremely stressful moments, but being able to rise above those nerves and still enjoy the creative process with the team reminded me why I love Journalism in the first place.”