Saying goodbye to something you’ve loved for three years is really weird, and I’m not sure who I would be without The Appalachian. 

From covering a fire in my own dorm using my phone to having a conversation with the chancellor about her favorite kind of potato, The Appalachian has made me a more confident and capable person and allowed me to meet people I never would have known. 

Not only has The Appalachian changed me, but I know it has also changed campus. The work this paper does is so important, and The Appalachian is truly the most essential student organization at App State. I joined The Appalachian after changing my major to journalism and finally found an outlet for my nosiness and interest in other people’s business. 

Starting as a news reporter, I learned how much goes on behind the scenes on campus and what’s hidden from students and community members. My time on the news desk made me more assertive and confident as well as started a college-long theme of me knowing all the tea in Boone.

When I became Arts & Culture Editor, I learned how to cover Boone trends and human interest and even wrote a hard-hitting piece on Squishmallows. Leading the Arts & Culture desk was the most rewarding experience, and I will always love that desk for bringing my passion back for reporting. 

Now, as a senior finishing my student journalism career as Managing Editor, I’ve had the privilege of helping lead an amazing team of editors and reporters on the paper. I will always support and cherish the team of journalists I worked with during my time as Managing Editor. Special shoutout to my administration ladies. The job would not have been as fun without you.

If I can leave on any note, it would be to support student journalism. Be a student journalist. Help student journalists. Answer student journalists’ emails. There’s more happening on campus than students will ever know, and student journalism plays a large role in holding groups accountable and revealing important information. 

To my friends and family, thank you for supporting me even when I dropped everything to write or edit a story in the middle of dinner on a Friday night. You are everything to me. 

Finally, to The Appalachian and everyone I’ve worked with over the past three years, thank you.