Editor’s note: A 30 column is a chance for departing senior staffers to say farewell and reflect on their time spent in The Daily Texan’s basement office. The term comes from the old typesetting mark (–30–) to denote the end of a line.

The dark, dank, creepy stairwell that leads to The Daily Texan office is only somewhat symbolic of what the basement is actually like. 

Some days, it was the only place I wanted to be. Other days, it was the last place I wanted to be. But no matter how many nights I left the office feeling physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted, I always returned for the nights filled with jokes, weird dance parties and trips to Whataburger.

In my all-too-short four semesters at the Texan, I have met some of my closest friends. The Texan brings people together in a special way that only extreme stress, teamwork and sleepless nights can. 

I know that when I think back on those four semesters, I’ll remember the people I constantly laughed with, cried with and celebrated with just as much as I’ll remember sprinting to crime scenes, transcribing interviews and frantically typing out stories. 

I owe many thanks to many people, and I wish I could include them all, but for now I’ll stick to the big ones.

At the Texan, I learned how to report, how to edit and how to lead a team of 20-something kids in filling a full-fledged newspaper every single day. The person responsible for most of that learning is Jordan Rudner, who started out as my associate news editor mentor and later became my news editor, managing editor and then full-time mom-away-from-mom. I’ll miss having complete conversations with you from across the office by exchanging facial expressions. Thank you Jordan, for everything.

Thanks to former Texan advisor Michael Brick, who showed me the ropes of crime reporting and nagged me to visit the Austin Police Department and introduce myself. I ended up dragging him along with me. 

Thanks to my current staff. You all never failed to amaze me with your creativity and perseverance. Thanks to everyone who has ever edited one of my stories or helped me brainstorm for pitches. Thanks to my fellow department heads for putting up with me; I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know each of you. Thanks to Jack and Brett, the dynamic duo of associate managing editors who will forever be known to me as “Brack and Jett.” 

The Texan is a place where good times, good friends and delicious donuts are plentiful. As I pass the torch to future news editors and reporters, I look forward to watching the Texan family evolve and grow from afar.

–30–