Despite slanders leveled against me by some of the news staff, who will remain nameless, the rumors are true, I am graduating. Which means I am about to leave the Basement one last time, which I am looking forward to.
However, it would be a bold face lie to say I am not slightly uncomfortable with the fact I will be leaving this amazing group of reporters and people, but as the saying goes all good things must, one day, come to an end.
First my family, Mom and Dad, words cannot describe how thankful I am for all the sacrifices you two have made to give the blessed life me and my brothers are able to have. From the 4 a.m. wake ups to drop offs for cross country, to the late nights waiting for us to get home from band practice or work just to ask us how our day was. I am forever grateful that I will always have you in my corner. I love you so much.
Jeremy and Nathan, I do have to thank you for the constant humbling and reminders that though cool things happen I still can’t get a nuke in “Call of Duty” or win a “Fortnite” game and am quite horrible at coding. You both are, sadly, the funniest people I know and your jokes and roasts got me through this journey.
To the rest of my family, Uncle Mikey, Aunt Donya, Tia Norma, grandma and the rest of the cuzzos thank you for being the biggest cheerleaders. I promise to let you know the next time I am on TV even if you are an ocean away.
A big thank you to my previous editors, Joelle, Mason, Sarah and Ren for hiring me to begin with and starting me on this crazy journey of student journalism.
To the previous management teams especially, Amelia, Katie and McKenzie thank you so much for your constant support and leadership. I would not be here without you guys so thank you.
Aaron, I will stop slandering you now, your guidance throughout this has been amazing and much needed. I appreciate you being able to ground problems into reality because was it ever that deep?
Manoo, thank you for being a great roommate and a friend throughout this semester’s journey. Also for what I am sure is a fire photo for this column (we haven’t taken it when I am writing this).
To my fellow SRs, Naina and Caroline, thank you for teaching me what reporting is and being there through a quite stressful semester. You both are great reporters and I cannot wait to see what you do.
Erika, you are truly a light in this world. I always knew no matter how bad the day was, when I walked into the basement and saw you, it would all be okay. Your reporting and gifts as a journalist are only dwarfed by the person you are, your kindness and joyous personality is infectious. I know I will miss our time together but I will cherish it all the same.
Maryam, I remember being terrified of you, I mean the tough questions and long interviews. The fearlessness you showed during the protest and the calm you brought to intense situations, quite frankly you are just a badass. I know anytime I thought something was overwhelming or if I need someone to be honest about writing you are the person who was there. Your friendship has been one of the greatest things to come out of the Texan.
Laura, we started at the same time and look how far we have come! I am sad I won’t be here to see where you end up, but I do not envy you. Going back-to-back semesters for now six semesters going on seven, you truly are an icon and a legend and I will always be rooting for you.
Pili, thank you for being the realest person around. You have been a great news editor and I have been able to learn so much from you, we are finally free and I know we are going to kill it in whatever we choose to do going forward.
Catharine, Isaiah and Diego, watching you all grow has really made me feel like a proud old man. The reporters and people I have been able to see y’all develop into throughout the semesters has been inspiring. Keep going, don’t forget this old unc and I will cheer you on and root for your inevitable and almost certain success.
To the rest of the news department, thank you for trusting me to lead you guys. Being your news editor and working with y’all throughout the semesters has been a great joy. If any of you ever need anything please do not be afraid to reach out.
Vivien, a large portion of the gratitude I have for the Texan comes from the fact it allowed me to meet you. I stand in awe of your work ethic, drive and determination. Your love and passion for reporting is so refreshing and I cannot wait to see what you do beyond the basement, I know it will be massive. Thank you for being the best aunt Ovo I could have ever asked for!
Alyssa, I think now is a good time to say I did in fact apply to your department as a joke, but I will forever be grateful it allowed me to meet you. Another badass in the basement, but your work ethic and dedication is dwarfed by your kindness and humor. Thank you for the friendship and dealing with me even at my most annoying. I cannot wait until you make it big and I get to say “I am best friends with her.”
Kylee, I do not know what you saw in my GR interview. I have so much to thank you for but mainly thank you for trusting me in joining you on this crazy journey of leading the paper. You have always been there for me and I will forever cherish that. You have been an amazing leader and mentor, but even a better friend and words cannot describe how thankful I am for that.
Newt, the youngin, through the ups and downs of the semester you have been a constant through it all. I know you are going to kill it as managing editor and I cannot wait to see it. I am going to miss being called old, surprisingly and our laughs but I will stay bugging you. Don’t miss me too much now.
Ava, spoiler alert I sadly did vote for you last year. Wherever, who even cares. Thank you for your company, friendship and always making the most stressful times just that much easier with humor. I wish you the best of luck for the rest of your term, but you won’t need it, sadly you are already too good at your job.
Joseph, Saron and Dieter, thank you for being on this journey, working with you all has been an amazing experience and honor.
Lauren, no one knows what you are going through except you, but somehow it felt we were always mirrored in the Texan which I appreciated so much. Thank you for being there through the rants and raves, the arguments and agreements. Sports is lucky to have a leader like you, a stellar reporter and better person who I am honored to have learned from and look up to. Go save lives, but first let’s go out on the town a couple more times.
Anna, my dearest Anna, I miss you so much. Thank you for the constant laughs, the “Love Island” viewing parties (there were two of us) and for being the greatest friend a person could ask for. You literally are the best journalist I have ever gotten to know and I cannot wait to ride your coattails. I love you so much, beyond words, and I cannot wait to celebrate everything that you do until I am old and decrepit.
Isa, Alistair, Nick, Sophia and Charlie, sorry I have to bunch you all together, but this is getting really long. I loved getting to work with each and every one of you. The passion you show for sports journalism is sometimes a little intense and scary, but most of all inspiring. You all are great examples to growing reporters and have been great leaders within the department. I will miss you all.
Meaghan and Zach as the oldest sibling already, the last thing I would have asked for is two EXTRA younger siblings, and yet here you are. Simply put I love y’all. Your drive and determination to your craft is inspiring, but the people and the character you show day in and day out leaves me standing in awe of you both. I’ll miss the shenanigans and goofs, but I’ll miss the daily stomach hurting and tear-producing laughs more. Somehow I can’t imagine my day-to-day without y’all but I guess I’ll learn pretty soon. Don’t forget this old unc of yours and for the love of all things holy take me off DND. I am supposed to be thanking you guys so thank you, simply for being you.
Peter, here is my critique: Peter’s advising is good. Good job listening and letting me know when I was wrong. Could have given me a few more goods, but it was an enjoyable experience overall. Can’t wait to see my photo posted on your door, don’t be a stranger.
The department heads I got to work with, Clara, Avery, Naina, Nick, Lauren, Charlie, Tyler, Dieter, Saron, Ava, Colton, Hannah, Layla, Alyssa, Savannah, Ana, Genese, Mazzy and Emily. Thank you for all your hard work and the countless hours you put into this crazy experience we call the Texan.
There are so many other people I want to thank but sadly I have run out of room so a big thanks to the department heads I got to work with this semester and previous semesters. Thank you to the reporters, especially the GRs I got to hire and work with in the summer, who trusted me to read and edit their stories countless times.
Well guys POV: that’s all she wrote. It’s not goodbye, but instead a good way to say bye. It’s been real. It’s been fun. It’s been real fun, let’s do it again sometime.
