A farewell from the editor

Accepting the position as editor of this publication was the best decision I could have possibly made during my college career. While I may not have felt this way in the beginning, I’ve grown so much as a person and as a journalist. I’ve been working at the Nicholls Worth since my freshman year, and it’s been a long journey.

I was an art major and I had no idea how to do anything related to media. I remember being terrified that first production night as the design and layout editor in the fall of 2013. I worked on a campus map and wrote column and eventually realized I didn’t even do what I originally applied to do. Working at student publications gave me the opportunity to get hands on experience and learn how to write hard news stories, design for print and the web, know the importance of using social media and gain leadership and overall life skills. I’ve grown so much between sitting in that design and layout desk on my first day to where I am now in the glass box I call my office.

I never thought I would be able to write investigative news stories, controversial editorials and manage a staff of 17 students who juggle going to school and working two jobs. Not only did I gain valuable experience, but I made some of my closest friends here. Student Publications is like a family to me; I would do anything for my entire staff and the friends that I’ve made working here.

This last semester has been tough with the university’s decision to cut the La Pirogue yearbook fee. It has put some of my staff and the yearbook staff’s jobs at risk. It was difficult watching this happen to our program. This year has been the most difficult as far as getting interviews and information from our administration, but I tried my best to give the students valuable content with the information we could get. I never realized how much of a challenge it is to be a good journalist. I learned a lot from taking classes, but having real-world experience made me appreciate what journalists do and helped me realize how difficult it can be to cover investigative, breaking news stories.

I had to realize that while it’s always fun and easy to share and write stories on the positive aspects of our university, the students have the right to know about events and situations that may not always be so positive. Nicholls is certainly not perfect.

I never mean to sound boastful but because of my experience working at Student Publications, I’m almost 100 percent sure I will be successful once I graduate. I realize now that there are so many opportunities in store for me and for all of us. It’s been a long journey and I’m happy to be giving this position to someone else who I hope will be more than capable and qualified to take on this job. It is definitely a challenge, but in the end, it was worth all of the sleepless, stressful nights I encountered this year. I wouldn’t take back a single minute of it all.