Knight Writers

Senior Goodbyes ’26: Senior letter

Malia Rodriguez, Senior Staff Writer

May 15, 2026

Newspaper was the first ever class I took at Robinson. It has been the one constant in all four years I have spent in high school, and I cannot really explain everything that it has been. Through this class, I have made friends, learned so many cool niche things, and had a captive audience for me to be able to complain about random things that bothered me- I mean, writing opinion articles!

Because of my long tenure on staff, I have a large collection of favorite memories I’d just like to run through. Ehem. Tailgating before my first ever football game, Grace trying to cough at the same time I opened my Celsius so I wouldn’t be embarrassed, the balloon-lockdown drill incident, writing about ANYTHING and EVERYTHING other than sports, going from the smallest most out-of-the-way classroom to the biggest, front and center one, attempting to start a podcast with Grace, which was really just us gossiping, senior year FSPA winning first place in my section was pretty good times and of course, getting Jeff’s Bagels catered on the last day for us, that was pretty good as well.

Truly, my high school experience would not have been the same without this class. I don’t know what I will miss about these four years in the future, but I think newspaper will always stand out to me, even if it’s just from satisfaction at finally getting to use Oxford commas again.

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About the Contributor

Malia Rodriguez, Senior Staff Writer

Malia Rodriguez is a senior at Robinson and a Senior Staff Member for the Knight Writers. This is her fourth year on Staff. Rodriguez joined the Knight Writers mainly to have an outlet to share her opinions about everything from the latest movies and books to politics and current executive activity. “I love writing opinion pieces, and I’m not one of those people that’s afraid to write about stuff that I don’t like,” Rodriguez said. “It’s important to know what’s happening. You can’t be ignorant about what’s happening and expect that to work out for you.” Rodriguez expressed how important keeping up with certain issues is to her. The situation in the Middle East, for instance, is the dominant issue that has been on her mind as of late. “I care a lot about that. And if you ask me, I will talk about that forever because I think it is just a horrible situation. I really care,” Rodriguez said. Outside of the Knight Writers, Rodriguez spends most of her time in the studio, practicing ballet. “There is something so beautiful in being so dedicated and passionate about a specific craft, like ballet requires you to be, and I find it helps me express and process my emotions and turn them into something positive,” Rodriguez said. Additionally in her free time, Rodriguez can enjoy more trivial hobbies. This includes crocheting, a genre of needlework which involves looping yarn with a hooked needle, and playing more chill videogames such as Stardew Valley and Loddlenaut. On top of this, Rodriguez is an ardent reader, her latest read being Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar. “I go through moods for a very long time,” Rodriguez said. “I would say probably for, like, two years, I was almost exclusively reading Russian classical books. Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, stuff like that.” After Rodriguez graduates this year, she wants to attend a smaller, cozier school somewhere up north. Once there, she plans to get her degree in philosophy. “I love philosophy and thinking about things, I find that it is under appreciated in modern society,” Rodriguez said. “I also would like to pursue law, and statistically it is a very good degree for that.” (Profile by Kyla Martens)