In the world of high school sports, it is a tradition for each team to dedicate one night of the year to the graduating class. Senior night is a night to honor and thank the seniors for their hard work throughout the years.

As the sports editor for RHStoday.com, I was there as the 11 baseball seniors walked across the mound, laughing with their teammates and hugging their moms on their special night. I was there as the six volleyball seniors grasped each other in a warm embrace with tears running down their faces.

But sports teams aren’t the only ones that lose impactful leaders, athletes and students each year. This year, the three journalism publications, print newspaper, online site and yearbook, will graduate 20 seniors, including seven editors and five editors-in-chief.

As a sophomore, I see their graduation as both a sad and joyful time. Of course this time rolls around each year, but each graduating class leaves different memories, different stories. These are the people that brought me into the world of journalism, taught me how to write, interview and photograph. These are the people that helped me realize that there is so much more to writing than just essays and analyses.

And now, without them, room 112 feels a bit empty. My seventh period class went from a room of 12 to a room of five. We have lost quite a few “staff moms,” joke tellers and staffers who secretly run the school.

But, just like after a heavy loss of seniors on a sports team, next year sparks a “rebuilding” year for the staffs. The online site, RHStoday.com, will be combining with the print newspaper, Knight Writers, to ensure that both publications have enough staffers to be productive and continue to provide up-to-date news of Robinson High School.

Of course the 20 seniors will be missed, their names will remain as legacies in room 112. Next year, the dugout, court and classroom all may seem a bit empty, a bit different, but the returning players and staffers hope to keep the seniors’ legacy alive, as they continue to move forward.