Come May 17, the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse spring graduates will accept their diplomas and enter the next stage of their lives. Among those soon-to-be graduates is Executive Editor of The Racquet Press, Isabel Piarulli.
Piarulli will graduate with majors in political science and psychology and a minor in communications with an organizational professional communication emphasis. However, there was a time when she was only a psychology major and all it took was one political science course to open her eyes to the possibility of a second major.
She credits a class she took in her first-year with Dr. Alan Bigel as a turning point in her academic life. Taking POL 101 American National Government with Dr. Bigel lead to six Constitutional Law courses between her second and third years at UWL.
“I took that class [POL 101], and then felt I needed to be a political science major. I liked psychology, but it wasn’t igniting me in a way that I needed, and then political science did… now I wouldn’t want it any other way,” she said.
Also in her first year at UWL, Piarulli discovered The Racquet Press.
During her shifts as an administrative assistant for University Centers, Piarulli would read articles from The Racquet. Over the summer of 2022 she applied and was hired on as student government reporter in the beginning her second year.
“I love writing. I’ve always loved writing, and I love reading the news, but for some reason I didn’t think the job was realistic for me,” Piarulli said. “I think that would have been helpful for me as a freshman, to hear, ‘If you want to try it, there’s room for you to try it,’ especially at a campus like this.”
Piarulli quickly worked her way up, becoming the multimedia editor after one semester as a reporter. She has proudly upheld the role of executive editor throughout her third and fourth years and has certainly left her mark.
Before Piarulli became executive editor, The Racquet had been an online-only publication since 2007.
Back in her interview in June of 2022, Piarulli was asked what The Racquet could be doing better. Her response was for there to be a physical print newspaper. With her dedication and the help of UWL alumnus and former multimedia editor, Easton Moberg, printed editions of the newspaper could be found around campus in March of 2024.
“I think it surprised people to see The Racquet go back to print in the digital age we know we are all in,” she said. “But I think longform journalism and print journalism has a place still, maybe it is blind hope, but I hope not.”
Today, 500 physical copies of The Racquet circulate throughout the La Crosse community each month. The newspaper features a section called The Acorn, a collection of satirical and fictional news stories, established by Piarulli and Moberg in 2024. Along with a crossword specific to UWL.
When asked what article she is most proud of over her three years on the team, Piarulli answered the series she wrote on former UWL Chancellor Joe Gow.
“There’s no doubt it is the biggest news to come out of my four years in college. I mean, I genuinely cannot come up with something that would be more mind-blowing. I’m proud of our coverage of it,” said Piarulli.
She continued, “That’s the Racquet’s Super Bowl, nothing’s bigger in that moment. I’m so grateful that I found myself in the news environment when the biggest scandal of our entire college history happened … There’s nothing bigger than that … you can’t make that up.”
Time has worked in Piarulli’s favor, as Gow’s case, the high-cost April 1 state Supreme Court race, the 2023 state Supreme Court race and the high-stakes 2024 Presidential Election all unfolded during her tenure as Executive Editor.
She is thankful to be in a swing state where politicians are motivated to visit and engage with voters. Over the 2024 Presidential Election season, she had the opportunity of attending two Kamala Harris rallies, a Donald Trump rally and a J.D. Vance rally as a reporter.
She recalled Sept. 20, 2024, when she covered both Gow’s final hearing in front of the Board of Regents and Harris’s rally in Madison.
Piarulli said, “In one day, I wrote about the two biggest things that, in my time at the Racquet, have ever happened … That was one of the best days of my college experience.”
In 2023, Piarulli ran for a College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CASSH) Senator seat in the Student Association (SA) after feeling inspired when covering meetings as student government reporter.
“The second that I sat in Senate chambers in 2022, I was like, ‘Oh, I have to do this … I need to be around that circle,’” she said.
During her time in SA, Piarulli has served on the Search and Screen Committee for the Vice Chancellor of Administration and Finance, an adhoc Policy Creation Committee in response to the Interim Chalking Policy, the Joint Committee on Civil Discourse (JCCD) and has been the co-chair then chair of the Academic Initiatives Differential Allocation Committee (AIDAC) where she helped allocate $1.4 million for campus initiatives.
Outside of academia, Piarulli has been a legal runner at Hale Skemp Hanson Skemp & Sleik Law Office for 11 months to preview what life as an attorney would be like. She said the experience solidified her desire to enter the law profession, but through conversations with mentors will not abandon journalism as a career option.
After graduation, Piarulli will be moving to Chicago for a a few gap-years before beginning law school, she has her eyes on Loyola School of law.
She said, “I want to find my people there and make sure that I have a good support system before I take on another piece of education, because I couldn’t have done this one without the people in my life. So I definitely won’t be able to do law school without having people there.”
At some point, Piarulli hopes to run for public office of some form and freelance write.
At the end of it all, Piarulli has never once regretted her decision to enroll at UWL and has met her best friends at the university.
She said, “The people make a place, and to say this has been my favorite place in life so far is an understatement, which is just a testament to who surrounds me.”
When asked what her advice is for current and prospective students, Piarulli said the following:
“Don’t be a yes man; Disagree with people. That is what makes you an individual. When people go blindly along with somebody telling them what to do, that’s when life is boring. Be honest with what you love and talk about it loudly and proudly.”
