My time at the University of Texas has been short — three years to be exact — but well-lived. Between marching for the Longhorn Band and writing and editing for The Daily Texan, it’s a surprise that I managed to keep my
grades up.

When I first started at UT in the fall of 2016, I didn’t initially join the Texan. It wasn’t until a year later when I applied to be a general reporter for the news department and was graciously added to the staff by then-news editor Ellie Breed. My time as a general reporter was probably the greatest learning experience for me during my time at the Texan. The team of amazing editors at the time helped me develop my writing abilities, even when the edits sometimes seemed harsh – Paul Cobler takes the crown for most critical news desk editor that semester.

The following semester, Catherine Marfin, then-news editor and now-associate managing editor, added me to the permanent staff at the Texan as the breaking news reporter. That semester was definitely a wild ride. I cranked out two to five stories per week and infamously followed the story of former pharmacy professor Richard Morrisett, who had been allowed to keep his job at the University after pleading guilty to a domestic abuse felony, and was later found dead in his South Austin home. The work on those stories wouldn’t have been possible without Catherine, Ellie and
Chase Karacostas.

Chase then introduced me to the editing world last fall as a news desk editor, which helped me come into my role today as the associate news editor. This semester wouldn’t have been possible without the assistance from our fearless leader in the news department Claire Allbright and my co-associate news editor Sami Sparber.

Every semester, I debated not returning to the Texan, but something always drew me back in. Now that I reflect on my time at the Texan, I think its draw comes not only from the incredible work all the student journalists do here but also the incredible community present in the basement newsroom — even though sometimes the gloomy basement made me want to bang my head against
a wall.

As graduation draws near, I am sad to be leaving the greatest University in the world, but I’m grateful for all the opportunities it has provided me with, such as the Texan. Following graduation, I will continue my studies and work toward a master’s in strategic communication and innovation in an online program through Texas Tech University — I don’t know if I’ll be able to put my “guns up” though, because “hook ‘em horns” is forever in my heart.