My journey with “The Etownian” started my sophomore year, with a feature article assignment for my Intro to Professional Writing class.

That first article I wrote was an interview with my roommate at the time, which ended up earning me a credit as a guest writer in Campus Life for the final issue of that year.

The Campus Life Editor at the time was Abigail Sholes, and her assistant was Charlie Carberry, who was already and continues to be a close friend of mine. They read my article as they added it to the layout, liked it, and then Carberry insisted I apply to become their assistant as Sholes was graduating.

Admittedly, I didn’t have much experience in the way of journalism, but I took a journalism class during the first full semester that I worked for “The Etownian,” and I’ve always loved to write, so after a few weeks I was fully committed.

I have countless amazing memories from my time as an Assistant Editor, from laughing with Carberry about the bizarre glitches sometimes found in InDesign to cooking up the monstrosity that was “mac and choc” with my current assistant Cassidy Rohrman for the April Fool’s edition. I am incredibly thankful for the opportunity I’ve been given.

When Carberry graduated, I moved up. Becoming the Campus Life Editor was a daunting notion, but I believe that Carberry set me up for success and having Rohrman as my assistant made the job much easier.

On weeks I was so busy I couldn’t imagine the layout being done on time, Rohrman stepped up. She filled in articles that we needed last minute and found interviews when I occasionally struggled to get responses. I couldn’t be more grateful.

I am also thankful to every single person I’ve interviewed over the course of the last two years, and for each and every writer I’ve worked with. Thank you for being flexible and sharing what you had to say with Elizabethtown’s community.

But, I’d have to consider my favorite part of working for “The Etownian” to be Rory. I truly believe no issue of this newspaper would feel complete without him in his corner, dressed up in whatever we could conjure up that week.

It may seem like a joke, but brainstorming ideas for ways to dress him up and drawing any extra decorations for him was always a blast, and it served as a way to interject a bit of creativity into a job that rightfully demands objectivity. And besides, knowing that other Blue Jays around campus love that little green frog and his antics just as much as I do makes me so happy. I was even able to watch him achieve his dream of being printed in color before my time with the newspaper ran out.

So, with this final message, I pass the torch to the next set of Campus Life editors. Our section is one that allows individual students to be heard and share their unique experiences with Etown’s campus culture. It’s a place to find new media you might come to love, new places to visit and recipes to try. It helps to bring our campus community closer together, something we need now more than ever.

Farewell, and congratulations to my fellow graduating Jays. It’s been quite the journey, but we’ve made it to the other side.