My first interview was with our town’s mayor, Mr. McNally, for the school newspaper. I almost failed it.

I was a new high-schooler, nervous and stammering, so unsure that I even forgot to turn on the recorder.

But he noticed, smiled, and told me to relax. Then he answered questions I hadn’t yet known to ask.

That afternoon became the beginning of everything that followed: conversations with state legislators, the Speaker of the Assembly, members of Congress, and the Governor of New Jersey.

All of it began with that single act of patience.

Thank you, Mayor McNally.

Interviews at the website of Ridge Devil's Advocate, the Ridge High School Newspaper:
https://www.ridgedevilsadvocate.com/staff_name/rachel-yuan-26/