From Vol. 90, Ed. 08 May 2, 2024
It’s amazing how quickly four years can vanish. It seems like just yesterday I was crying in the bathroom after moving in freshman year. In that moment, all I could remember thinking to myself was “why am I crying?”
Today, as I near my final days at WCU, after growing into the person I am today, through the trials and tribulations of college, I can tell you exactly why I’m tearing up writing this farewell.
These past four years have been the best of my life. I’ve met some of the most amazing people this world has to offer. So many have been a part of my journey, but no group of people have had a bigger impact on me than the staff of The Western Carolinian.
At an early age, I began working with my dad. As an independent contractor, my dad always told me “No matter where you go, make sure you leave that place better than the way you found it.” Of course, he meant it in the physical sense – clean up after yourself and make sure our work was superb in whatever house we worked on that day. Although he meant it in the physical sense, I tend to think of it metaphorically. That was my mindset as I was thrust into the co-editor-in-chief position in 2022– leave this place better than the way I found it.
When Nick Childs and I took over as the editors-in-chief of The Western Carolinian, it was very clear changes needed to be made. Like a lot of print media during COVID, The Western Carolinian was hit hard. Students didn’t want to work, and that lack of engagement showed. The Carolinian needed a revamp. So, we got to work.
We hired an almost entirely brand-new staff. Unfortunately, though, as these things happen around here, most of that staff graduated. So, we rebuilt our staff again in 2023.
We brought back four returners and added three more going into this year. A staff of seven with no advisor – we didn’t look like we belonged. A weird group of people from very different walks of life with wildly different personalities. Because of everyone’s differences, I struggled to see how the vision I created just a year ago was going to come to fruition.
Despite our differences, we all had one thing in common – we were committed to doing our part as a paper serving our community. Over time, that passion allowed this staff to grow and learn from each other until one day, we realized something – we created a family.
Through all the differences and struggles throughout the year, we all grew to love each other.
To say goodbye to this paper, to this university and most importantly, to this family is more than my heart can take in this moment.
The majority of my college experience has been devoted to this paper and the individuals responsible for its success. I wouldn’t take a moment of it back.
Through all the staff meetings, stories, editions and awards, this organization and the people behind it continue to prove people wrong.
I am so grateful to have created wonderful memories through my work with The Western Carolinian and those memories will last forever.
Now, as I look back at my time here, I realize my goal of leaving this paper in a better place has been accomplished. This paper, for which I have dedicated countless hours to, is being left in the hands of a group of people I call my family. Who better to hand down my passion project to, than the people who have also devoted their college careers to improving.
In the end, I want to leave you with this. Journalism is and will always be what makes The Western Carolinian an important piece of the WCU ecosystem. Without us, this campus and the surrounding community would lose a vital resource. Our world needs journalism. Our world needs journalists like the ones that call The Western Carolinian family.
For the final time – thank you for reading.
