Congratulations to Rachel Alexander, who will take over as Pioneer Editor-in-Chief for the 2012-2013 academic year.

Alexander, a Politics/Environmental Studies major, is back at Whitman College this semester after a spending fall 2011 in Ecuador. Prior to studying abroad, she served as a News Editor for The Pio in spring 2011.

The announcement is no surprise. If you’re a regular reader, you’ve read Rachel’s articles. Her intrepid pursuit of stories has resulted in many of The Pio‘s more high-profile pieces over the last couple of years, including a recent piece about eating disorders on campus , as well as an excellent article about undocumented students at Whitman from February 2011.

At The Pio, Rachel is known for her chocolate-chip cookies on production night, her unabashed love of Ke$ha and her complete dedication to the newspaper.

For now, she will continue her standout work as a Senior Reporter for the News section. We’re all looking forward to seeing what she will do next year.