This previously ran in our 2022 June Senior Issue.

Thomas Hartill joined The Stinger as a deputy arts & culture editor his sophomore year; he remained in that role until his senior year when he stepped into even larger shoes than his size 14 Nike Air Monarchs: editor-in-chief.

Hartill’s extracurricular participation started with ETV freshman year, largely inspired by his viewing of La La Land in 2017. He has since joined the German Club his junior year and Academic Team senior year.

Hartill plans to continue his interests in the film industry at Hofstra University, while pursuing a major in filmmaking. 

Stinger: What do you feel your greatest accomplishment has been while at Emmaus? 

Hartill: I’m really proud of everything that I’ve done for The Stinger. Personally, I’m proud of the work that I’ve done with the stories that I’ve written, and then leading The Stinger this year as editor-in-chief. But outside of that, I would hope that my biggest accomplishment is just like being a good person. I like to think I am, and just making other people feel comfortable around me, you know, and not [have people] think of me as somebody that like they don’t want to be around. 

Stinger: What teacher or role model has had the greatest impact on your time at Emmaus?

Hartill: I mean, obviously, the answer would be Ms. Reaman. She really exemplifies that positive philosophy in the way that she interacts with students in her classroom. It feels like a safe space. The rest of this school feels like you’re just like in a public school. There’s teachers and their students and we just do what we do and we try to get out of here as soon as possible. But, when you’re in Ms. Reaman’s room, it feels a little different and I don’t know how to explain it… And I like to think that I try to be an extension of that. I try to create that same environment for people. 

Stinger: What film character do you feel best reflects your experience at Emmaus? 

Hartill: I would have to say Remy from Ratatouille. He does what he’s passionate about. There’s this line in the beginning of the movie where he talks about how humans are different from rats and how rats are just surviving. That’s what they’re doing; they’re eating trash, because it’s giving them sustenance, and they’re just surviving. They’re living in the bottom of the sewers, but Remy, that’s not enough for him. He doesn’t want to survive, he wants to live…I think Remy is kind of a localized character version of that goal of living, and I try to do that too. 

Stinger: What was the most difficult challenge you were faced with while editor in chief of The Stinger? 

Hartill: My greatest challenge was making decisions. Especially when the decisions became harder, but I’ve always kind of [been] this, wishy-washy, try to just make everybody happy. But, when you get put in a leadership position like that, you can’t be wishy-washy; you have to make a decision. I think the way that I’ve learned to overcome that is to just trust myself and my instinct. I just think about what would be right in the moment, just one second. I think, what do I think I should do? And I just do it, because the more that I think about it, the more I start to think about all these different options I could take and which would be best… 

Stinger: How has ETV affected your interactions with the student body at Emmaus? 

Hartill: With the online year and a half in the middle, I think it changed because I never really saw people as much then. That was part of the time that I was on air with ETV was those online shows, even if barely anybody even watched them, but it’s kind of surreal in a way sometimes. I don’t want to overexaggerate, because it’s not like everybody in the school knows who I am, but every once in a while somebody mentions… And it just, it just feels weird; I don’t know how to explain it.