Editor’s Note: Tryouts for Opinion and all other Daily Texan departments are currently underway and will continue until Friday, Sept. 13. Apply online at the Texan website or walk into our office at 2500 Whitis Avenue.

If you’re a student at the University of Texas, it’s safe to assume that you’re interested in learning valuable skills, preparing for a career and making a name for yourself. If you fit that description and don’t have a million-dollar NFL contract awaiting you, there’s no better place at UT to accomplish all three of those goals than The Daily Texan.

Everyone who has ever worked for the Texan will attest that however competent a writer they were before they started, their skills grew more than they ever expected as a result of the job. At the Texan, you’ll learn through practice and example to write intelligently, professionally, compellingly and on a quick deadline. You’ll also learn to represent something much bigger than yourself, alongside some of the most talented and driven members of the UT community. Whether you’re interested in a career in journalism or not, the skills you learn at the Texan will serve you well for the rest of your life.

As an opinion columnist in particular,  you’ll have your views read, considered and critiqued by an audience of thousands on one of the nation’s biggest university campuses. You’ll choose your topic so you can find what’s important to you as a UT student and have a space to show the rest of the 40 Acres why your issue-of-choice should be important to all of us, too. As wide-ranging as your column’s impact can be, the words will be yours to show off, now and for years to come.

This is a hiring pitch, obviously, but let it also serve as a word to the wise. You’re fortunate enough to attend a university with one of the largest and most award-winning student newspapers in America. Texan staffers go on to great things, and they can attribute much of their success to their time here. It’d be a shame to let that opportunity go to waste.