Applying for Journalism staff three years ago was one of the best decisions I made. After being forced by my siblings to apply (they were both on staff before), I was worried that I wouldn’t make it. A couple of weeks later, I heard back and was excited to join the staff.

I walked into my first day of Journalism still nervous as I was surrounded by all the seniors that filled the room. After an icebreaker about what restaurant each staff member would create, I felt much more comfortable. From then on, Journalism was what I looked forward to at the end of each day. It was filled with fielding potential controversial topics and learning more about campus life. Of course, there were also snacks and the occasional cookie contest. I ended up finding seniors to look up to for next year and was excited for the year to come. 

Going into my senior year in a leadership role, I was excited to meet all of the new people on our team. After fun-filled icebreakers and food parties to get to know one another, we got to work. The school year started and we began having even more conversations and dinner tabling (pitching our article ideas). Along with academically interesting conversations, we had fun moments with broadcast walking around and learning about more people on campus. I bonded with my classmates and got to know more juniors whom I did not know very well because of the pandemic.

This past year I have found friends that I never would have had before and I am excited to see all the great things they do. After being the third and last Burgess to serve on the Lion Journalism Staff, I am so grateful for every moment.