I know what you’re all hoping to read. Another sappy and trite goodbye statement by another outgoing senior. But for my last column, I aim to be as upbeat as possible and not be too melodramatic.
This isn’t just about me as much as it is the people who helped me become what I am today, from a journalistic standpoint that is.
Over the course of my time at The Knight, I’ve appreciated the opportunities that so many people before me have given me during my time here. It all started with Frank Garland, my adviser and The Knight’s faculty adviser as well.
He helped me become the writer and editor that I am today. I couldn’t think of anyone that deserves more recognition for my Knight achievements than him.
When I came into college as a freshman in the fall of 2008, I had no experience whatsoever writing, let alone writing for a newspaper.
But with the help of his expertise and guidance, the past four years have been a wealth of experience. And now I absolutely love writing.
Many people dreaded the weekly emails he would send us critiquing our work in the Knight, but I always enjoyed reading them because he always touched on what I needed to do to improve my editing and writing skills.
Secondly, I probably wouldn’t be the arts and leisure editor without the help of my past news editors, Jackie Oesmann and Brenna Peters.
During my freshman and sophomore years, I was a staff writer who wrote extensively for Oesmann, who was the news editor for both of those years.
Her step-by-step instructions of how to get a hold of people and how to write journalistically boosted my confidence as a journalist.
And then when I got to my junior year, I was named the assistant news editor, under where I learned from Peters, the news editor last year. Her craft and professionalism prepared me to be the editor that I am today.
She taught me a lot of the skills that I now possess for laying out pages and generally how to be an editor. And I couldn’t appreciate her enough for what she taught me as well.
And for this year, I’ve enjoyed my time as the arts and leisure editor. My assistant, Courtney Herzing, has been the best assistant any editor on this staff could ask for.
She worked her butt off every production night and never complained about anything I asked her to do.
She learned a lot from me, and it showed in each and every issue she wrote for over the past year.
And who could forget another one of my loyal staff writers, Alex Fryling (better known by his stage name “Youngfry”). A shoutout to you for always being readily available to take on stories.
I’m running out of space here, but those are just some of the people who shaped me to be the editor and writer that I am today.
I’ll miss this place as much as the next person, but there are definitely bigger and better things that await me on the horizon.
