For the past four years, Iris Libson has been a crucial part of Zephyrus. They were the Head Illustrator during the 2024–25 school year and a staff artist before that. They have worked tirelessly to improve our publication, leaving an impact on everyone.
Iris was a part of many activities throughout high school, serving as a captain of the Quiz Bowl and Knowledge Bowl teams, participating in art, creative writing, and game clubs, and of course, Zephyrus. Zephyrus taught Iris several skills that they hope to utilize in their future. “[Zephyrus] taught me how to take initiative, it taught me how to work with people, it taught me to take chances, and all of that is useful in basically anything I’m interested in doing,” Iris said.
Some of Iris’s favorite memories from Zephyrus are hanging out and playing a multitude of games with art staff. “I’ve [played] so many card games in Zephyrus. It is horrible how much time I’ve spent doing that,” Iris said.
They also enjoyed going to Boston and Philadelphia for the National Scholastic Press Association conventions and have many fond recollections. “Going to Boston and Philadelphia was super fun, and I have some really good memories with that and just the strange, strange conversations that occurred because of it,” Iris said.
Next year, Iris plans to attend the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island, to study art.
Although Iris didn’t always know they wanted to go art school, art has always been incredibly important to them. “I’ve been surrounded by [art] my whole life, and my soul is so tied into art, and I have no idea who I would be without it,” Iris said.
They are thrilled to be immersed in a community of other artists. “I’m really looking forward to being surrounded by more people who know what I’m talking about when I’m using art terms, like please, I need more people who know color theory,” Iris said.
Iris’s dedication to Zephyrus has not gone unnoticed, and their presence in the pubs room will be missed. “I think it’s gonna be a really big change to not have this atmosphere, and you guys, and Amborn [in my life],” Iris said. “I’m hoping that everything I’ve been able to do up until this point will be able to help the paper in the future.”
This piece was originally published in Zephyrus’ print edition on May 20, 2025
