Noe joins Prevailer Staff

College graduate and lifelong writer Esther Noe is the newest addition to the Hill City Prevailer News team. Her duties will include managing the office, journalism, photography, and eventually, layout.
Noe (pronounced “no”) recently moved to Custer with her parents and siblings. However, living in these majestic mountains has always been a dream. 
“There’s just something about this place,” she said. “There’s a stillness in the whispering winds and a sureness in the solid granite outcroppings. It captured my heart at 10 years old and has called me back ever since.” 
Noe grew up in the south suburbs of Minneapolis, Minn., where she took ballet classes, acted out stories with her dolls and read books under the covers with a flashlight. At the age of 9, Noe discovered a deep love for writing. Thankfully, her home school schedule included plenty of room for exploring passions. English quickly became a favorite subject, and often she would voluntarily do two or three lessons at a time so she could write the first draft of the next assignment sooner. 
In 2014, she was encouraged by a writing teacher to enter an essay competition called Voice of Democracy. After a long wait the results finally came. Noe won first place for her district.
“That day I somehow laughed, cried and jumped excitedly all at once,” she recalls. “I always loved writing, but this teacher helped me see that I could actually be a writer.”
After this experience Noe announced to her friends and family that she was going to pursue a career as a writer and author.
“Writing was practically contagious after that,” Noe recalls. “The more I wrote, the more I wanted to write. It didn’t matter if I was writing an essay, poem, article, song or short story. I simply loved the process.”
After graduating high school Noe enrolled in Thomas Edison State University online to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies. This degree program allowed her to take classes in writing, communications, literature, child development and business. She says, “It was the perfect mix. I was able to study everything I loved in the way I learned best.” 
Alongside college studies, Noe worked as a ballet teacher and later as an infant teacher at a daycare.
“Growing up, there were always babies in the house so working with kids was a perfect fit,” Noe said. “What’s more, it gave me the income I needed to pay for college as I went.” 
As much as she loved her work, Noe never gave up on her dream to become a writer. She spent hours writing novels, taking classes from professionals, attending conferences, reading books and starting her own blog. Later in her creative writing class, she was awarded the only perfect score in the class with additional praise from the professor. 
During those years, Noe and her family returned to a VRBO in Custer many times. They drove through Custer State Park, marveled over Mount Rushmore, explored the caves, visited historical sites and often just walked around the mountains.
“After a while, I found myself calling that vacation house home,” she said. “It was by accident really, but that’s what South Dakota had become for me. I still can’t believe I get to call it home for real now.”
When 2020 hit and everything started to shut down in Minnesota, life changed dramatically. That year moving to South Dakota shifted from an “if” to a “when.” Thus, the family COVID-19 hobby became looking at houses on Zillow and talking about what it would be like to live in the Black Hills. There were a few roadblocks, but as time went on the deterrents disappeared one after the other.
“It was amazing to watch God open door after door for my family, right down to finding the perfect house,” Noe said. “Being here today is a dream come true made up of many miracles.” 
On Aug. 22, Noe graduated college with a 4.0 GPA. That same day she began packing to move to her new home in Custer. A few months and U-Hauls later, Noe read a copy of the Custer County Chronicle and saw the Prevailer’s ad for an office manager and journalist.
“I feel incredibly blessed to have found a job with the Hill City Prevailer News team that suits my skills and passions so perfectly, Noe said. “I love interacting with people, telling stories and sharing truth. This position will allow me to do all three while also investing in a community that I have cherished for years. I’m looking forward to meeting the many wonderful people of Hill City.”
“We look forward to having Esther on our staff and working with her to continue to grow the Prevailer News and make it even better,” said SHP Holdings, LLC general manager Jason Ferguson. “She’s a quick study and will no doubt do a fine job for the people of Hill City and Keystone.”

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