Will Campbell: On education beat, farewell and welcome
This week, we said farewell to our education reporter, Brianna Murschel, who is moving to Florida and exploring other career options.
She's been with The Columbian since July 2024, when she started as an intern and showed a high degree of reporting skill. We hired her after that, and she proved herself many times over. She's had to cover difficult stories about investigations into alleged teacher sexual abuse and labor strikes. She wrote a standout story about a Vancouver woman who is caring for her adult son with autism and other developmental disorders.
We will also miss her presence in the newsroom culture, which included quirks such as creating a Diet Coke-themed Christmas tree.
I am happy that sports reporter Will Denner stepped up to take on the education beat from now on, and we are unfortunately cutting the job he formerly held in our sports department due to ongoing financial difficulties in our industry. Will has built a great reputation covering Clark County prep sports, and it is hard to lose that. The Columbian's other sports staffers - including Micah Rice, Tim Martinez, Meg Wochnick and Jeff Klein - are absorbing that work.
Will has been with The Columbian for about 4 1/2 years. In that time, he's highlighted so many great stories about local athletes and others involved in high school sports. His awards include first place in a multistate competition organized by the Society of Professional Journalists for his 2022 story "La Center wide receiver Davari Grauer wears unique gloves for grandfather with Alzheimer's."
I am grateful for Will's pivot into the education beat, where he already has shown his talent as a reporter and writer, especially in his story about the Sakura Festival published in print Saturday. Check out this lede: "Clark College international student Namika Miyagi likens her college journey to a cherry blossom.
"Like the flowering trees that dot the center of Clark's campus and bloom for a short time, college also is a fleeting experience with many precious memories that lead to a new beginning."
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