The ThunderWord is entering the 2025-2026 academic school year with an unprecedented student editorial team. This group of senior reporters and editors will be your leadership behind the scenes.
“We have such a strong core of returning student leaders on our editorial team this year,” said Kara Stuart, the ThunderWord Faculty Advisor. “We are entering the year set up for success because of the leadership of these editors. With this core team in place, I am really looking forward to all the amazing things that the ThunderWord is going to be able to accomplish this year – really building on the foundation of all the work we accomplished last year.”
As a team, these editors have established their values and missions of The ThunderWord. Their goal is to focus on journalistic integrity, mutual respect, and personal growth. Following an award-winning year, these students look forward to the privilege of bringing Highline and the greater community the news.
Mavrie Durham – Managing Editor
Durham has been with the ThunderWord since spring of 2024, shortly after starting Highline the quarter prior. Since then, she joined as Co-Editor for the entire 2024-2025 academic year. Now, in her last year at Highline, she is stepping into Managing Editor. Her responsibilities have expanded to include back-end developing and digital publishing.
Lilah Nutting – Opinion & Sports Column Editor
Nutting has been a member of the Thunderword since fall of 2024 as a writer for the team.
Although she took on some small editing projects in winter of 2025, she recently became a full time editor on the paper in spring of 2025. Nutting’s work includes articles focused in arts, opinion, and community, though she’s trying to branch out this year to focus more on campus and sports.
She continues to improve her writing skills in the newsroom and in her personal life, but is looking forward to practicing her editing skills throughout the coming quarters.
Micaiah Simon – Arts Column Editor
Simon has been with the ThunderWord since January of 2024 and has been a student of Highline since fall of 2023.
He’s an aspiring creative and political writer, and became an editor last spring quarter.
While video games, anime, and music are Simon’s favorite writing topics, social justice and systematic oppression tend to draw his attention as well. Though this is his last quarter at Highline, Simon plans to make it an outstanding one.
Evelyn Rissell – Campus & Sci-Tech Column Editor
Rissell has been with the ThunderWord since spring of 2025.
She has been focusing on growth and expanding into all types of journalistic writing. Her work has included the coverage of in-person campus events, political happenings as well as breaking interviews.
Her time has included special emphasis with Highline’s Marine and Science and Technology Center (MaST). Rissell reflects on her time at the publication, “I’ve been able to push myself in ways I never thought possible. When I started in spring, I would not have believed you if you told me within a matter of weeks I’d be sitting down with the mayor!”
Rissell believes there are endless possibilities within the newsroom at Highline. With future endeavors she looks forward to producing the podcast, “The ThunderPod”. Along with this, she is sharpening her editing skills while writing remains at the core of her work.