Who is Lydia DeBord?
She came to Community after attending St. Francis for middle school. DeBord felt that Community was the right move, and she wanted to figure out who she was. Instead of going to Pioneer or continuing at a Christian high school, she decided that Community was where she could flourish and experiment. Her choice to join The Communicator wasn’t just about picking an extracurricular or class to fill her schedule — it was about finding a sense of belonging at Community.
DeBord joined journalism in the first semester of her sophomore year. She has now been on staff for six semesters and never could’ve imagined how much The Communicator would guide and shape her high school experience.
“I didn’t really know what I wanted to do at all with my life,” DeBord said. “I had done jazz freshman year as an extracurricular at school, and I didn’t like it at all. No offense to jazz kids. You guys are awesome. It just personally wasn’t my cup of tea. So yeah, I needed another activity to balance it out. And I thought the magazine was super cool. So I literally just signed up.”
DeBord has contributed to each publication during her time on staff, varying from social media, the website, various print editions, VOICE and more. Her sophomore year, she was exclusively a journalist, but her junior year, she was an A&E section editor. Now, during her senior year, she has worked as the managing editor, where she coordinates and organizes for The Communicator to help an almost 100-person staff meet their goals.
“I think for me, like, the thing is, I got so frustrated with it, but quitting was never really an option,” DeBord said. “You know, quitting isn’t something that I like, and I think my mom taught me this, because that woman is my best friend. I love my mom so much. We had this rule that whenever I did an activity as a kid, I could leave at the end of the year, but you never quit something midway through. And so I think sophomore year, I was debating not signing up for [journalism]second semester. But I was like, no, because that would be cheating, you know, that would be quitting.”
With her time spent on The Communicator, DeBord has found that she wants to continue studying journalism in her college career. She’s attending Ohio University, majoring in Journalism.
“It’s actually cool,” DeBord said. “I was writing my ‘Dear Tracy’ letter the other day, just for funsies, and I was thinking about how when me and my mom were making my list of common apps, I specifically told her, because she really wanted me to apply to Ohio University because she had friends who went there or something. And she was like, I think it would be such a good fit for you. And I turned to her, and I was like, I’m not going anywhere in Ohio.”
Before deciding on Ohio University, she really wanted to attend the University of Missouri. Although now that she’s committed to Ohio University, she couldn’t imagine anywhere else to begin her college career.
“It’s really funny that now I am, but it’s like, so cool, because it’s low key, it’s kind of woke, which I feel like you wouldn’t expect from Ohio,” DeBord said. “But it’s a little tiny Ann Arbor, yeah, and it’s in the Appalachian Mountains, and it’s so cute. I have a roommate who’s my bestie. Yeah, I’m excited.”
Lydia DeBord is a senior, soon to graduate from CHS and move on to Ohio University, where she will continue to study journalism. From coming to Community her freshman year, 2021, to graduating in 2025, it is safe to say that DeBord has made her mark at CHS.
