When I came to App State five years ago, I knew I wanted to be a part of the campus newspaper. I’m a journalism major and gaining the experience a student newspaper offers made sense. I attended my first interest meeting before classes even began in August, 2014 and I still remember the excitement I felt walking out of the newsroom.

What I didn’t expect the paper to give me is the limitless memories and incredible friends. I can still see myself walking to the football stadium to do interviews for my first story for the paper. I still remember the feeling of walking on the field Ladd-Peebles Stadium after App State won the Dollar General Bowl, and on the court at Madison Square Garden after the Big East Tournament. My time at The Appalachian has given me some of my favorite experiences of my life with some of the best people I’ve ever met.

Thank you to my former sports desk editors Cory Spiers and Chris Warner, who are friends as well as my newspaper mentors. You made it fun to be a part of the desk and I genuinely enjoyed working for each of you. I still bring lessons you taught me into The Appalachian newsroom every day.

Thank you to my editors-in-chief, Nora Smith and my newspaper wife Sydney Spann. I learned so much from each of you and you both brought great perspectives to the table, as chiefs and in your other roles. Thank you for your patience with me over the years. I promise to bring honor to my Anger Management award for many years to come.

Thank you to our future editor-in-chief and my newspaper brother, Moss Brennan. You taught me so much about this industry, even as a freshman, and I know you’ll do great things for The Appalachian.

Thank you to my sports editor predecessor and great friend, Jason Huber. It’s safe to say our relationship has had its ups and downs. Possibly my favorite memory of my time at The Appalachian is our slap fight while I was driving 60 MPH down the freeway in Alabama. My apologies to our friends, video editor and photographer Jamie Patel and Lindsay Vaughn, who probably feared for their lives.

It’s also true I wouldn’t be here without you. I never saw myself as an editor for this newspaper. But you saw it in me and you pushed me to achieve it. Thank you for believing in me and showing me exactly how to handle this position. May our friendship and our Twitter wars live on forever.

Thank you to the sports desk boys: Zack Antrum, Garrett Wold, Chase Frick, Shane Harvell, Frank Bogle, Kaiden Smith and my successor, Silas Albright. Thank you for all your hard work while I served as editor and for all your friendships. I’ll always be the most proud of how much each of you improved since joining the desk.

Lastly, thank you to The Appalachian for making my time at App State better than I ever believed it could be. I’ve taken pride for a long time in being The Appalachian’s longest tenured staff member. I’ve said it so many times that it’s hard to believe it’s finally time to go.