By Courtney Klaus, Editor-In-Chief
I think it was my own father who was quoted in a copy of The Vantage from the ’80s as saying, “I’d rather read the side of a building than The Vantage.”
I guess you could say I kind of took that as a challenge.
But really, if you were to ask me four years ago where I would be, I would never have expected to say I would be here, writing my final opinion piece as the editor-in-chief of my college’s student newspaper.
When I came to Newman, I had zero journalism experience. No high school classes and no clubs. Then my friendly T&T facilitator Lauren came up to me after class and said, “Hey, I think you’d make a good writer.”
This would be the first student organization that I would get to be a part of at Newman. This was my chance to make a good first impression. I wanted to prove myself. When I wrote my first opinion piece, I remember I was so self-conscious and naive. I thought maybe I could impress people by using the word “guileless.”
Needless to say, I had a long way to go.
Here is where I have to thank my lovely adviser, Denise. When she first suggested I take the reins as the next editor-in-chief when I was a sophomore, I was too scared to take her up on the offer at first. I thought I was way too anxious and nail-bitey to do the job then-editor Delaney was doing.
It was not until weeks and weeks of forced pep talks and guilt trips that I finally said yes. That was the first time I learned a valuable lesson: Denise is always right (a fact I would be reminded of for years to come).
Throughout my time here I have gotten to work with some amazing staff writers and editors who I hope to keep in touch with.
I want to thank Madison, Katie, Kevin and Emily, who were wonderful to edit with last year, and Madeline, Leanne and Murphy have been just as great this year. They all have gotten the privilege to hear wayyyy too much about my personal life during the hours and hours we’ve spent together in the Mac Lab, and one day I hope to make it up to them.
I will miss the laughs we shared together. I’ll miss the dinners at Denise’s. I’ll miss the weekly meetings, and I’ll miss how off topic we could get during them. And as much as I cursed them when I wanted to go to sleep, I will miss the late editing nights.
So thank you, Vantage. Thank you for giving me the confidence to ask tough questions. Thank you for giving me the efficiency to write five articles on a busy school night. And thank you for the memories I’ll never forget.
