Senior Send-Off: Thanks for reading

Hi readers! Welcome to our last issue, and thanks for picking up an issue. If you’re online, thanks for clicking! It’s been a good long while since I last wrote for The Chronicle. I’ve jumped around from section to section in an editorial capacity and tried out writing for almost every section since my first week at Hofstra. As our current copy chief’s recent op-ed expressed, I also feel as if most of what I’ve learned around journalism has occurred not in the classroom, but in my work at the University’s only independent, student-run newspaper.

I’m graduating in August after three years at Hofstra, and I’m so glad that it’s nearly over. I have one more summer course for my history minor, and then I’m free! Being part of the newspaper during this time was a great experience. Truthfully, I really wanted to try out the college newspaper environment that I first saw in Gilmore Girls. It felt cool to be part of such a microcosm of small student journalists and writers committing time in their week to contribute to this niche newspaper.

There were a lot of stories, big stories and small stories, in my time at The Chronicle. In a recent meeting with Dean Mark Lukasiewicz, the editorial staff heard of new plans for more local coverage of our community. It should be exciting, and I hope the future staff and journalism department are able to succeed in this endeavor.

For prospective students, incoming students and current students thinking of working for The Chronicle, I’d recommend reaching out to any one of the current staff, who would certainly be open to hearing and answering any questions you might have. Nearly half of our current executive board is graduating, and they’ll be able to draw from their own extensive experiences to help you on your own professional journey.

To the readership of The Chronicle, the faculty, staff, administration and contributors to The Chronicle: Thanks for reading and writing! All student organizations have such quick turnover rates, so there’s always room for continuous and impactful change in the newspaper if you strive for it. Positions in almost every section are opening, and positions that we haven’t even thought of (community editor, data editor, etc.) are all potential duties to innovate and explore.

My first article for The Chronicle was a summer recap of blockbuster movies for the arts and entertainment section. It came back with a litany of edits, appearing in print with the characteristic color of the section later that week. Attached to the edits was a congenial note encouraging that I continue to write for the paper, something I did weekly for most of that year – sometimes picking up two, three or four articles a week to see if I could do it and to kill a buttload of time. I was pretty bored too, I guess, and the paper gave me an excuse to go to places with a specific, set purpose.

I got the opportunity to transfer to New York University and Rice University, a university in Texas, my freshman year and the paper was one of the main reasons why I stayed. I didn’t really want to go to college; crushing debt, out-of-touch professors, required redundancy? No thanks, sounds like expensive high school (which I also left as early as possible) with fewer lessons learned. But Hofstra was persistent, and my wandering ambivalence gave in to no small feat of institutional marketing. It was the only college I ended up applying to. When I got my transfer acceptances freshman year during Music Fest, I felt torn between a family I had found here at Hofstra and my actual, literal family. I’m from Texas, so I thought I’d try my chances at Rice; although eventually I was too afraid to leave and delayed the decision too much. The deadline to pay the deposit to secure my seat simply passed.

Despite the current comparative limits of Hofstra, I’m grateful for The Chronicle and always will be. I recommend all students check out the paper and find what you may within its pages. Happy reading!