On the first day of Fall quarter 2014, I was standing in front of a computer in Joan Stout Hall, desperately looking to fill a hole in my schedule. A class I had enrolled in had been cancelled, and I needed another to bring my schedule up to 12 credits.
I found Journalism 101, which fit perfectly in my schedule, and I enrolled with only a couple seconds of hesitation.
It’s been almost two years since that day.
Since officially joining the Indy staff in Winter 2014, I have worked as a reporter, the opinion section editor, managing editor and now the editor-in-chief.
This is the last edition of the Indy for the year, and it is also my last as editor-in-chief.
The Independent has changed a lot since I have been here. In the last year, we have created a new, more appealing website and sped up our reporting tempo to bring more news to the students and faculty at Clark. We have also increased our social media presence tenfold, interacting in new ways with the college community. However, I cannot take credit for any of this.
My predecessor, Zach McMahon, was responsible for the idea of the new website. He provided the foundation for all the changes that came after, and he deserves a large part of the credit. The rest goes to my team of reporters and editors. Throughout my tenure as editor-in-chief, they have worked hard to ensure that my vision for the Indy became a reality. They succeeded in a lot of ways, and while there will always be room to improve, I could not be more proud.
I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the work of Cameron Wright, my managing editor. He always ensured the staff had everything they needed, including myself. None of this happens without him, and I could not be more grateful to have worked with such an extraordinary young man.
Looking forward, I want to wish Emily Hancock and Ieva Braciulyte the best as the new editor-in-chief and managing editor. Both Emily and Ieva are highly-capable editors, and more importantly, they are both passionate. It is clear that they care about journalism and want to make a difference with everything they do. The Indy could not be in better hands.
After leaving the military in 2013, I was a little directionless. That changed when I found journalism, and part of the reason why is the Indy’s adviser Dee Anne Finken. Her passion for journalism helped stoke my own, and I cannot thank her enough for helping this Marine find a sense of purpose again.
I also want to thank Jim Camin for helping me find my voice as a writer. I’m sure he will hate being called out by name, but his advice on every story I wrote, including this one, was invaluable.
Finally, there is just one last person to thank. I need to thank the little voice in my head that said “It’s journalism, how bad could it be?”
As it turns out, not bad at all.
