When I first joined The S&B three years ago, I didn’t know what I was getting into. To say joining the paper as one of the News Editors was a shock would be an understatement. But that shock wore off, and as I acclimated to my new role, I found a community that would shape the remainder of my time at Grinnell. 

I still remember my first article. I was covering the mental health resources available through Student Health and Wellness (SHAW) and the issues some students had with their accessibility. I remember how anxious I felt going into each interview, how unsteady I felt writing it and the pride I felt when it was published and later awarded by the Iowa College Media Association. 

I found a sense of confidence within the words I had written, but that confidence was not found alone. Each word I had laid was checked, revised and read repeatedly by the other editors and our professional advisor, Lyle Muller. It was their help and guidance that laid the foundation for the journalist I would become. 

It was also that sense of collaboration, of helping each other improve relentlessly, that I will most take with me as I end my career as a journalist. When looking at the younger S&B staff members and editors that will take on that mantle, I see that same sense of community lives on. 

I spent the last year working directly with those younger writers, editors and photographers. I’ve seen them learn and grow into talented journalists who I am confident will lead The S&B to new heights. Looking back, I hope I was as helpful and encouraging to them as the seniors were to me when I first joined the paper.  

As I leave The S&B and journalism altogether — at least for now — I will look back incredibly fondly on my time here. The pride I felt when I published my first article has been replaced with the pride of seeing our underclassmen develop into skilled and thoughtful journalists. It is a sense of pride I will not soon forget.