When I first applied to the Texan, I did not follow its social media accounts and did not know anything about AP style. All I knew was that the one-story-a-week requirement for the writing departments terrified me, and I felt summarizing those stories into one or two sentences for social media was easy enough.
Sitting in my small freshman year dorm, I took a chance and, instead of doing my homework, sent in my application.
Few people know this, but I actually have received several rejection emails from The Texan. Five to be exact. Through trial and error, I tried to find my place in either the news, LARTS and photo departments in a desperate attempt to expand my journalism experience, but each email led to “we regret to inform you.”
Maybe it was fate, or maybe it was my average writing and photography skills, but doing the work behind the screen seemed to be my calling after all.
Six semesters and probably hundreds of captions written and edited later, I am grateful to have served as social media editor for the fall 2025 semester.
In the last two years, I’ve learned to write under 250 characters for Facebook and Twitter captions (yes, I still call it Twitter), but that is simply not enough to describe my gratitude to the Texan. Being a part of one of the largest and most-awarded student newspapers has been such an honor, which makes saying goodbye so bittersweet.
To my p-staff and general staffers, thank you for all the work you’ve done to keep the social media department running. I know y’all will continue to do a great job sharing stories on our digital platforms. I am so proud of each and every one of y’all and will miss you guys so much!
Clara and Rainna, I genuinely don’t think I would have survived this semester without you guys. I’ve said this a million times, but I appreciate y’all more than you might think. Alec and Madeline, thanks for stepping into editorial roles despite barely joining the Texan this past summer. I applaud your growth and dedication. Samantha, you will always be the GOAT for getting our graphics in at the last minute, thanks for dealing with my delayed responses on Figma for approval.
To our amazing management, Kylee, Newton, Matthew, Joseph and Ava, thanks for taking a chance on me to lead our social media team. I’ll miss our late nights in the Basement.
To Peter, despite having to scroll all the way down your critique emails to find your feedback for Twitter, your advice has helped us improve so much. Thank you for your guidance.
To Trinity and Chloe, my previous co-social media editors, thank you for seeing my potential my freshman year. To Vale and Yesenia, who I had the honor of working with this past summer, thanks for listening to my rants about all the work I had to do as editor. Your encouragement is not forgotten.
To my mom, grandma and siblings, I owe all my success to your never-ending support. I love you so much!
Aside from my gratitude, I want to take a moment to say my experience as a student journalist was made possible by reporting from a safe environment and having access to basic necessities, which has been made nearly impossible for journalists in Palestine, the Congo, Haiti and Sudan, who remain dedicated to sharing the truth about these nations torn apart by genocide, war, famine and lack of humanitarian aid. I also want to acknowledge that the Texan sits on indigenous land, particularly the land of the Coahuiltecan people.
Thank you to The Texan and all those who have shaped me into the journalist I am today.
