As graduation is quickly approaching, Ms. B ’16’s period 6 journalism class has been facing a bittersweet reality: our favorite seniors, Bella Ramirez, Christina Vaughan, Addie Felix, Harper Clark, Mikayla Hayward, Julia Pinner and Andrea Salazar will soon be leaving us to go and be amazing at the colleges of their choice. Each of the seniors has made a unique and special impact on our journalism class through their kindness, empathy, humor and brilliant writing; however, two seniors in particular have done a tremendous job guiding the Royal Reporter to success alongside Ms. B. In August 2025, Bella and Christina stepped up to be the co-editors in chief, and I think that I can speak for all of my fellow reporters when I say that I cannot imagine a better duo to guide us in our writing and to lead the Royal Reporter.
Christina entered her senior year as a four-year Royal Reporter staff member after having a fantastic summer: she attended both Girls State and the Washington Journalism and Media Conference, where she learned invaluable skills about government, journalism and the media and how they come together to document the happenings of our great nation. Christina is quite a busy student, participating in CSF, NHS, the Ambassador program, Model UN, club soccer, Rosary Triathlon, Spoofdawg to the Rescue and leadership roles within Red & Gold, but, through it all, she still managed to be an awesome, friendly, supportive and engaged editor-in-chief for all of us. Christina is an accomplished writer, being published in the OC Catholic Newspaper and showcasing her skills by writing gold’s winning script in 2024.
She has been editor-in-chief for 2 years in a row (and journalism’s resident SNO expert) and has written 106 articles for the Royal Reporter in her four years at Rosary about many different subjects, such as teachers, alumnae, faith, furry friends, her peers and much more. Christina’s pure talent and love for writing can be exemplified simply by one fact about her: she has written the most top stories in the history of the Royal Reporter.
Over this past summer, Bella connected with Notre Dame by attending their pre-college program. Little did she know that about eight months later, she would commit and become one of the Fighting Irish. Her classmates were so excited to hear the news of her acceptance, as we all know that she will be the best Business Marketing major that the school has ever seen. This two-year Royal Reporter staff member has served in many roles on campus: Bella is involved in ASB (where she serves as executive president), Campus Ministry, PAL, CSF, NHS, the Ambassador Program and Rosary Lacrosse. In addition to all of these wonderful activities, Bella is deeply dedicated to her faith. She can constantly be seen serving at Mass in one way or another, and her voice can be heard through the PA, bringing Royals into the new day through morning prayer.
Bella’s passion for leadership is made apparent through her participation in Rosary’s Leadership Pathway. Bella explained how her participation in the pathway has changed her perspective on stepping up and leading in her article, Journeying down a path of leadership: “As a member of the Leadership Pathway myself, I have been blessed with the chance to develop my overall leadership skills as well as tailoring my experience to help me grow in public speaking, communication, organization and servant leadership. From summer programs to on-campus involvement, I have learned what it means to truly be a leader in any community I find myself in. I plan on taking all the things I learned during my time in the pathway to college with me as I navigate the next chapter in my life.” Thanks to this pathway, the Royal Reporter has in Bella the best leader.
Christina, you put so much effort into every article that you write and into helping us to be the best reporters that we can. Your humor, brilliance and passion for writing and journalism brought so much to our class this year, and, as a result, inspired all of us to grow in our writing and to bring forth our best work into the paper. Thank you for always being so kind, supportive and helpful, and always willing to lend a helping hand if any of us needed it. All of these wonderful qualities that you have shared with us will bring so much to UCI, the ROTC program and so many more places. Congrats on four great years at Rosary and at the Royal Reporter, and we all hope that the next four years will be just as awesome.
Bella, your kindness, support, leadership and great writing have helped to lead the Royal Reporter to success this year, and we are all so grateful to have spent time with you in this class. You are such a dedicated student, daughter of God, editor-in-chief, writer and friend, and we appreciate you so much. You will be so successful at Notre Dame and beyond, and we are all excited to see what you will do and how you will change the world. Your Royal Reporter and Rosary legacy and impact will never be forgotten, and we will all miss you so much next year. Maybe you can come back to write a guest article about Notre Dame and your college experience… We love you, Bella!
Upon entering into my first year on the Royal Reporter, I was nervous, as I knew no one on the staff, but during our first class, I found a connection with Christina, who went to the same elementary school as I did, and found that Bella was very kind and welcoming. Both Christina and Bella (and the rest of the seniors as well) have made me feel so welcome this year, and I am so grateful for the kindness, friendliness and laughter that they have shared with me. Next year, I will be serving as the editor-in-chief of the Royal Reporter, and it is my ultimate goal to serve just as they did.
Bella and Christina, you two are so inspirational to all of us, and we all know that you will be amazing in college and beyond. Your talents, intelligence and kindness will touch the lives and the hearts of so many people. Congrats to all graduating seniors, have a great summer, and enjoy next year and the wonderful college journey that is ahead of you!
