I thought my departure from the Nexus would be immensely satisfying; I officially retired from my role as Co-Editor in Chief about a month ago and never looked back. Yet, I still find myself waiting for that sigh of relief. Where the hell is it?

And that’s not my only question. As I reflect on the past year in this role and my four years at the Nexus, I’m just confused. Where’d all the time go? How’d I do? Did they like me? Does anyone know where my sunglasses are? I think I left them in the office last week. 

Despite the fears and uncertainty that come with this huge transition, I’ll never have to ask myself if I would’ve changed anything. Never! I would never change a thing. My time at the Nexus was as messy as it was formative, and I will never be able to imagine a life without it. 

I have a distinct memory of joining the Production team my freshman year and thinking I could never be Editor in Chief. It was too big of a role for someone like me to fill. Little did I know, two years later, I’d be fighting to prove to myself and to the entire editorial staff that I was wrong. That I could do it. And I did it!

Shayla and I assumed this role at a time that was full of questions on every possible scale. Questions within the Nexus: Are we getting kicked out of our office? Questions on campus: Who’s this new chancellor? What the hell do you mean Deltopia’s canceled? And questions on the local and national scale: How can we use journalism as a tool amidst the ever-growing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) presence in our community? 

That last question is a different kind. It doesn’t have a witty answer. It has weight.

It is the act of questioning that guided most of what I contributed to the Nexus. On a small scale: Why have we never changed the fonts? So we changed the fonts. Why do we stay so late on print nights? So we fixed the workflow. These feel trivial, but they weren’t. They were practice — learning that “because that’s how it’s always been done” is not an answer a journalist should ever accept.

On a larger scale, that same instinct became something more urgent. Michelle Cisneros, Nexus’s outgoing Lead News Editor, and I kept returning to a question: How do you give weight to accumulation without reducing it to a single story? The answer was the Nexus’s I.C.E. sighting tracker: mapping sightings across Goleta and Santa Barbara, then returning at one month and six months to analyze patterns and to situate what was happening in our community within broader structures of power — refusing to let these actions go unexamined.

Journalism, at its core, is just that refusal. The question mark in my title isn’t doubt — it’s the job. Question everything: the administration, the data, the workflow, the fonts, the silence, the story you think you already know. The moment a newsroom stops asking is the moment it stops mattering.

Then again, I’ve never had to question how lucky I am to have done this here, with all of you. 

Shayla, I’ve said this countless times, but I couldn’t have done this job without you. That was never an option. I hope you know that your kindness, patience (!!!!), strength and of course your amazing organizational skills never went unnoticed. We have been through so much change together, have changed so much together and I’ll forever cherish this time we had together.

Mira Kaiser, my Production powerhouse, my print night North Star … I am so grateful Nexus brought me you! You are truly one of my favorite people ever. Let’s stay friends forever?

To the rest of my Production crew: Claire Silva, Anya Melton, Parker Inglis and Sophie Waxberg (shoutout JP) … We could not be leaving Production in better hands! Please, if you haven’t already, become best friends with each other and carry on the legacy of the Peaches. I will miss you girls dearly.

Michelle Cisneros and Jack Dindia, my actual GOATs, we had a legendary run. You guys put the dream AND the team in the dream team. Let’s get you some medical help for carrying the entire Nexus on your backs for so long.

Samuel Liu: I don’t even know how I met you but I’m 80% sure it was through Nexus and I’m 100% sure that you are the best person I’ve ever met.

Kira Logan and Piper Cheney — girl, I’m emotions. Let’s hang out socially forever. I love you girls.

And of course, thank you to Linda Meyer, the Nexus’s financial advisor, for being so much more than that. You’ve helped me in so many ways and I will miss our seniorbook office chats dearly.

Lastly, to Shayla and I’s successor, Iris Guo: it’s been an honor being able to watch you grow into this role with such grace and confidence that Shayla and I definitely did not have. I am so excited to see what you do, because I know you are capable of whatever you put your mind to! Take care of yourself and know that I’m always a call away.

To the entire editorial staff, being your Editor in Chief this past year was insane, but like I said, I wouldn’t change a thing. Except that you guys should talk to people outside of your sections. Also, let me know if you find my sunglasses. 

Congrats to the class of 2026!

BYE!
Anusha Singh