Each fall, a renewed excitement ripples across a fresh staff of The Racquet Press, as the possibilities of the coming year are ready to be tackled by the team. However, each spring, The Racquet has to say goodbye to some of their beloved members.
One of those members this year is none other than Executive Editor Jackson Skarp. Skarp began his career at The Racquet in 2023 as the Student Government Reporter before becoming the Multimedia Editor in 2024 and assuming the role of Executive Editor in 2025.
Skarp will be graduating with a degree in organizational and professional communications and a minor in legal studies. He explained that his mom has worked in communications for most of his life, heavily influencing him to pursue a similar path in his post-secondary education.
“I have always thought that her job seemed really interesting, working with people across a company to make sure that the company’s messaging is consistent across the board and engaging for the audience,” said Skarp.
Skarp continued, “I chose legal studies as my minor because I want to go to law school in the future. Right now I plan on taking a few years to work in communications, or even in some kind of legal field, and get some on the job experience before applying and moving on to law school.”
In addition to his involvement with The Racquet Press, Skarp served as a CASSH senator for Student Association during his junior year. Originally from Cottage Grove, Minnesota, Skarp toured other colleges such as UW-Eau Claire, UW-River Falls and Minnesota State University-Mankato before settling on the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
“Everything about UWL, from its programs to its distance from my family, and even the campus and community that I saw when I toured led me to ultimately choose it as the college I wanted to attend,” said Skarp.
Starting out as Student Government Reporter in 2023, Skarp explained that he didn’t know much about journalism or student government; he just knew that he liked writing and wanted to be involved in journalism on campus. However, there was a steep learning curve for him his first semester as a reporter.
“Once it did finally click, I was able to really get into the groove and that’s when I really started loving writing for The Racquet,” said Skarp. “[Becoming Multimedia Editor] was a crazy switch, going from just recently finding my rhythm writing articles to being the person that checks over and posts other people’s articles as a crazy feeling.”
Skarp spent a year as Multimedia Editor, working closely with Advertising Director Alaina Ftich to overhaul the Racquet’s logo, digital signage and any other public facing image the Racquet had. He explained he loved learning about the newspaper’s branding and graphic design, gaining experience and understanding the work and thought that goes into maintaining a brand.
As Executive Editor, Skarp has a new understanding of the effort and commitment it takes to run The Racquet Press and even more respect for previous Executive Editors.
“It has been a lot of work, but I have loved every second. Being able to publish articles that are important to UWL students, especially on topics and events that they may not have seen or heard about otherwise, has been really awesome,” said Skarp.
Skarp continued, “Along with that, seeing the numbers on each of our articles each week is super encouraging, it reminds me, and I always try to remind our reporters that what we do is impactful and that it really matters, people do read it and appreciate us writing. I have loved my time at The Racquet, both as a reporter and as an editor!”
One of Skarp’s favorite articles he wrote was in 2025, when a retired police officer who was present at the January 6 riot came and spoke in La Crosse. “There were a lot of community members there, and I thought it was cool to be out in the community covering a topic like that and hearing from/interviewing someone who experienced a piece of history like that,” said Skarp.
Skarp said that he met many amazing people at UWL who shaped his experience as an undergraduate. Some of these people were those who were in editor positions when he first joined as a sophomore, and they showed him what he was capable of and how connected he could be on campus.
“Both Isabel Piarulli and Easton Moberg were editors while I was the Student Government Reporter, and I think they played a large part in my pursuit of journalism at The Racquet as well as being upperclassmen that I looked up to and kind of showed me how to make the most of my experiences and really push myself to do and be more,” said Skarp.
Coming to UWL, Skarp had never imagined he would join a group like The Racquet, especially one he would become heavily invested in. He reflected that he’s glad he made the decision to apply and become part of The Racquet’s community.
“There is just such a great group of people involved in The Racquet, and there always has been. Everyone who works at The Racquet genuinely cares about UWL and its community and wants to make an impact,” said Skarp.
He also said he will miss the feeling of being on campus among other students who all feel like they are in it together.
“That feeling of community and togetherness, even if you don’t know the people around you, is something I have really enjoyed and will miss after I graduate,” said Skarp.
After graduation, Skarp said he is excited to start exploring life outside of La Crosse and eventually attend law school. He plans on getting a few years of work experience in a human resources position or similar options such as hiring managers or talent acquisition, but law school is something Skarp’s wanted to do since he started out as a freshman.
Skarp ends his time with The Racquet Press with words for journalists, writers, or anyone who wants to tell a story to simply just write.
“Being able to create something that other people will read and find useful or interesting is something that I have really enjoyed and will carry with me after college. I used to worry more about how people would perceive my writing and what people would think when they read it, but the more I write the less I think about things like that,” said Skarp.
“It just comes with practice, being confident in yourself and in your work is something that The Racquet has really taught me.”
