To be frank, this isn’t really how I thought my senior year of college was going to go.
I thought I was going to have more time on campus with my friends, more time playing trivia at the Zig, and—most importantly—more time working on the Chimes.
But regardless of everything that COVID-19 took from me and my fellow students, I wouldn’t trade any of my Capital experiences for the world.
I learned a lot in my three years at Capital working on the Chimes. I became a better writer, a better designer, a better photographer, and a better leader. I got to travel to New York City, I got to go photograph concerts and festivals, and I even won some awards.
I learned how to balance certain aspects of my life, too. All through college, I worked full time to pay my bills, on top of working at the Chimes and taking my classes, and if you would’ve told me that five years ago, I wouldn’t have believed you. I’ve never been shy about writing about my mental health, and I think that everything I’ve done in this newspaper has helped me improve that. I’ve become better at figuring out how to balance myself and my work, and I’m proud of that.
Working at the Chimes, I’ve gotten to focus on my passions and following my dream of being an arts and entertainment writer, and words can’t describe how thankful I am to have had the experience.
When I first joined in fall of 2017, I wasn’t sure of my place. I didn’t know anyone on staff, I didn’t really know what I was doing, and no one told me how scary interviews can be (and to anyone I interviewed in my first few weeks, thanks for bearing with me).
And after a year of being a quiet staff reporter, I took the role of managing editor in the fall of 2018, and everything started to make sense.
I accomplished everything from jumpstarting a Chimes Tik Tok account to being recognized by White Castle for a satire story to landing a couple of internships thanks to the portfolio I built.
I was censored and belittled, but I also got to write about some of my favorite things, like literature, horror, music, anime, and even Sonic the Hedgehog.
I made some great friends whom I care for deeply, including the Ryan Bergara to my Shane Madej: editor-in-chief Heather Barr. We went from working together because of being in leadership to going to the Renaissance Festival together, traveling to Chicago together, and even meeting 3OH!3 at Warped Tour together (legendary photos below).
In our time managing a newspaper together, we had disagreements, but we’re ultimately proud of what we managed to do during our time in leadership. We produced some pretty cool content, and I don’t think I could have done it with anyone else. Thanks for running with my many outlandish ideas and keeping me grounded.
I owe many thanks to my professors too. Thanks to Sergey Rybas, the professor I had who helped me get the most out of my education and who captured the spirit of being a student in the media. I had the most fun in your classes, from recording a podcast to making YouTube videos to making BuzzFeed quizzes to writing a research paper on feminism in Naruto.
And, most importantly, thank you to my advisor and the advisor for the Chimes, Kelly Messinger. Thank you for being an incredible role model for me as a woman, for supporting everything I do, and for always having my back. You helped me grow not only as a writer but as a person, and I can never thank you enough for putting up with my shenanigans for the past three years. I hope I can be as badass as you someday.
And, to the rest of the Chimes staff: thank you. Thank you for laughing with me, for helping me, and for doing your best to put out work that we’re proud of. Thank you for calling me on my bullshit, for bringing in story ideas that never would have been on my radar, and for calling WXCU from across the hall to request Harry Styles. Thank you for Piada Wednesdays, for Secret Santas, for out of context quotes on Twitter, and for AP Style debates.
When I look back at my time in college, my best memories will be in that tiny orange office with all of your wonderful faces.
And, to our readers: thank you, too. College media is dying, and it warms my heart knowing that the Chimes still gets support. From our WXCU prank wars and Twitter love to our relationship with Pastor Drew to the alumni and parents reading, even if you aren’t on campus anymore, you all help us continue to do what we love and prepare ourselves for life after college.
It’s sad knowing that this is my last time writing anything for the Chimes after 121 other stories, and I don’t know where life is going to take me after getting my degree and entering the workforce in this unusual time. But I’m not done writing yet, and I hope whatever I do makes me as happy as working on the Chimes has.
Cheers to moving on and following your dreams.
