Here at The Uniter, we take our community obligations seriously. Those obligations include telling the stories that aren’t told elsewhere, but it also refers to our role as a learning paper. We pride ourselves on giving new writers, photographers and illustrators what might be their first opportunity to work in print.

Our staff this year is comprised almost entirely of newcomers to The Uniter. But this issue also contains a first contribution by one of our volunteer writers. We pride ourselves on volunteer engagement. Our volunteer co-ordinator, Tamika Reid, works year-round to find new folks to contribute words and images.

I started at The Uniter as a volunteer film critic in January of 2014. I never expected it to go much further than that, but after falling in love with working on newspapers, I managed to get hired for a staff position. Almost six years later, as managing editor of the paper, I think back with awe at how much volunteering for The Uniter has impacted my life.

If you’ve ever thought about doing the same, please reach out. It could change your path. Also, I don’t think I’ve got enough free time to keep writing these film reviews every issue.

-Thomas Pashko

Published in Volume 74, Number 2 of The Uniter (September 12, 2019)